Once you have discovered where your friend’s desires, problems, goals, and motivations are, it will be time to get them started. To do this, have your friend read the benefits of Devotions With Jesus before you get together with them. If they need your help getting started, your journey through The Special Features program in Beginning: Year One will have your ready to help them.

While your friend is going through their week with The Benefits of Devotions With Jesus, you will be going through your week with The Purpose of Beginning: Year One again. After the week is over, set a time to go over their week’s studies with them. Take out time to answer any questions they may have. But, stay on the subject as much as possible. You don’t need to be rigid; but, they will only grow spiritually when you are talking about the things of the Bible and Jesus.

If your friend asks questions that are important to them but off the subject, ask them if it would be okay to discuss that at a later time. If there is an issue you don’t know the answer to, tell them that you will check it out and get back with them on it. If they have a question that will be addressed later, assure them that it will be discussed at the appropriate time. If it is an issue that is blocking off their desires to do devotions, then pray and ask Jesus to help you know how to solve that for them.

The first and most important thing you need to look at is, what is your friend already using to get their needs and desires met? This means you will need to understand the DIFFERENCE for how Jesus provides happiness and your friend’s method for seeking happiness. Your friend has already DECIDED what method they think they should use to get the happiness they seek. Typically they have confused pleasure or extreme pleasure as being happiness. Ask Jesus to help you show them the pitfalls of extreme pleasure.

If your friend is already addicted to some kind of extreme pleasure such as sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, witchcraft, or accomplishments, you may need to get additional help from someone who is a minister. Continue working with them on Devotions With Jesus to help them grow spiritually. But, they may need outside help with their addiction. It won’t be until Growing: Year Two that you will be trained to be able to minister to those who are addicted.

Through your Beginning: Year One Study Pages, Jesus will take the subject your friend is looking at in Devotions With Jesus and sharing some important information with you. He will be showing you what you need to do to help your friend get the most out of their devotions for that day. He will take into account the possibility that this is your first time to mentor a friend. And, even if you have been mentoring for a long time, Jesus will be able to increase your training and skills through this time of study and prayer.

Two Pages From Devotions With Jesus: Just because your friend is going through the material doesn’t mean they are understanding what they are being exposed to. Since you are farther along in your spiritual growth, you will see things in their devotions that they will miss. Some things they miss won’t matter that much because there will be repetition; but, some things will be vital to their current situation.

As you are reviewing their two devotion pages, Jesus will help you pick up on these vital concepts and help you ask relevant questions to see if they learned those vital pieces of truth. Your friend may not know how to allow themselves to be examined. They have been trained with esteem and confidence procedures that often block off any correction, advice, suggestions, or outside help. Their esteem, confidence, and believing in themselves may pose a real barrier to the process of learning, growing, and being healed.

Two Pages From Beginning: Year One: Just because you understand the material in Devotions With Jesus doesn’t mean you don’t need to grow. Jesus will use your Study Pages to help you learn things you desperately need training in. As a student of Bible Life University and Beginning: Year One, Jesus will use your Study Pages to make you into a better mentor and Christian. He will show you important Biblical principles that will help you grow spiritually and grow as a mentor-friend to those around you.

As you are going through The Special Features program, it will help you get the “My Beginning: Year One Record.” It will provide you with instructions so you can document your progress with each friend you are mentoring. It is important to print yourself a copy for each individual friend because their progresss may be different. On the last page of the record sheet, you will find instructions on how to dedicate an internet browser to staying on your next page of study.

Your friend will be encouraged to get and print a copy of “My Devotions With Jesus Record.” When you familiarize yourself with Devotions With Jesus, you might print a copy of that record for yourself. Some of your friends will be very competent with browsers and others may fear them. As you expose yourself to both Beginning: Year One and Devotions With Jesus, it will help you be relaxed and helpful with your friends.

If you aren’t going to be there when your friend starts their devotions, make sure they know how to access them. You might take the six steps on the last page of their “Devotions With Jesus Record” and see if they can follow the instructions. Let them do their best without your help, as you watch them follow the instructions. Then, if they need assistance, explain the instructions better and see if they can do it on their own. They need to feel comfortable navigating the website.

Be encouraging, relaxed, and patient with your friend. Allow Jesus to help you yield to the Holy Spirit’s fruit of the Spirit: Gal 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Ask Jesus to help you allow these power-emotions to flow in and through you. The more excited you are, the more your friend will enjoy the devotional process.