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Most likely, this study guide is being to you on the day of your baptism into Christ. If so, this day is, without question, the most important day in your life. This is the day for which you were born! The decision you have made to die with Christ in your baptism, accept his grace and put on his new life will affect every area of your life.
Colossians 3:3
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
The study you are about to begin is designed to help you develop deep convictions from God's Word each day for the next 40 days. It can also be used by those who have been disciples for a while to find "renewed life" through a return to the basics. As you being this study to learn God's Word, you need to understand how important this is for you. If you build a strong foundation now, it will serve you well for years to come.
Knowing the Scriptures is vital. They equip you for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Jesus was deeply committed to the Scriptures, using them powerfully in crucial moments in the spiritual battle.
Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Luke 4:1-13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here.
10 For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
With his example, Jesus shows us that we too need to love the Scriptures and use them daily.
Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Make up your mind that you will not let anything get in the way of your daily study of God's word. Your life depends on it.
FOR THE GREATEST GROWTH
1. Buy a notebook and keep the notes that you will make as you go through the metric!
Writing down your answer and thoughts will be very helpful to you. The better you learn these things now, the more effective you will be in sharing what you know with others.
2. Have a regular time and place to do your study.
Pick both so that you will be as free as possible from interruptions and distractions. For those with normal schedules, early morning times are usually the very best.
3. Read and underline, mark or somehow identify every spiritual reference in your study.
This will help you in remembering where passages are located and will give you one more way of being effective as Jesus' disciple.
4. Have a great relationship with a more mature Christian who can check your progress as you move through the study.
Take advantage of all the help you can get. Be eager to receive instruction and correction. The crucial issues you will study out will serve you powerfully the rest of your life. You want to give this your very best.
5. As you work on each lesson, write the current date in the space provided.
This will help you keep track of the consistency of your own pattern of study.
6. Keep these notes and review these convictions.
Your own notes can become a valuable resource when you need encouragement in these areas and when you are sharing with others.
May God bless you with great times in his Word and may those times always draw you personally closer to him enabling you to bring others to Christ.
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