In the first session we heard Wayne Cordeiro who pastor New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii. He shared that the weather in Honolulu was boring, sunny and 80 degrees everyday. He should try out Cleveland’s weather if he wants some variety. Since starting New Hope in 1995 the church has grown to over 11,000 for worship on weekends. He has personally helped start 80 churches in and along the Pacific Rim including Japan and the Philippines.

Actually Wayne shared the need for church launchers to be Spirit led. Wayne spent some time on the five things you need to bring with you when you do a devotion.

    1, Bring a Bible
    2. Bring a pen to mark up your Bible (yes you can do that without God’s judgement)!
    3. Bring a reading program (what you are going to read – not just the gospels and Psalms)
    4. Bring a journal
        -read scripture and write down what God shows you
        Shared an acronym (SOAP) for this:
            Scripture – write it down
            Observation
            Application – today I am  going to…
            Prayer –Write out a prayer
    5. Daily planner
        to write down stuff to get the distractions out of your head

You need to spend 20 minutes reading the Bible, 20 minutes journaling, and 20 minutes sharing with God.

As I spend time with God each day I sometimes struggle with making that time about him and not me and my needs.  Wayne has given me some excellent practical tips to make the most of my daily quiet time that I am going to implement immediately. It is imperative that every believer make a serious commitment to spend time with God. He is expecting to meet with you each day. What are you waiting for?

NewHope’s website is www.enewhope.org