Christmas Greetings and Ministry Projections for 2013

Dave and Debbie Johnson

Assemblies of God Missionaries to the Philippines

AGWM Acct. 2256006

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

Winter Newsletter 2012-2013

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and

Warm New Year’s Greetings

to all of you

with Joy and Deep Appreciation

for your love,

your prayers,

your sacrifice on our behalf

In the next day or two, we are going to attempt a pictorial newsletter recapping 2011. Since this attempt is at the limits of Dave’s technical capability, we will do it as a separate document…just in case it comes out looking, well, interesting . . .

In this edition, along with our Christmas greetings, we would like to share with you our vision and activities for the coming year. But first, we need to take care of a bit of business.

A Quick Appeal and Thanks to those of you who responded to our latest appeal to help erase our financial deficit.  We are very thankful for this. While the deficit has lowered, it now still stands at about $2,500.00 so if you can help in any way, we would certainly appreciate hearing from you.  Here’s how you can give

·        Online at www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com or

·        By mail to AGWM 1145 Boonville Ave. Springfield MO 65802 USA, designated for Dave and Debbie Johnson, AGWM acct no. 2256006.

To know what you are supporting, please keep reading. To read our past newsletters, please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com.

The New Year in Preview

Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) (see www.apts.edu)

The first two months will be focused on our teaching and publishing responsibilities at APTS. Debbie will be teaching a block course designed to train those who will teach English as a second language. God is using people in this capacity to share the gospel all over the world. Those who have signed up for Debbie’s course come from several different nations in the Asia Pacific region. She has a masters degree in this field and is getting excited about the course. After teaching the course in February, she will likely have to return a couple of months later to supervise an internship program for these students.

Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and the APTS Press

While Debbie is doing that Dave will put on his publisher’s hat as the managing editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and the director of the APTS Press, which publishes academic books. Dave’s second edition of this highly respected journal will be going to press about this time and he also plans to invest time planning future editions. Also, a couple of months before inviting Dave to direct the Press, the APTS leadership accepted Dave’s dissertation for publication, meaning that the first book he will publish as the director of the Press is his own! The book is at the printer now and will be out in early January. We will have a picture of it in the coming pictorial newsletter and it will be available through www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com sometime after the first of the year.

Throughout these publications, Dave is being given the wonderful opportunity to serve the Pentecostal/Charismatic community in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Please pray that the Lord will anoint Dave to bring God’s a message of wisdom for the harvesters and workers of His kingdom in Asia.

Ministry in the Bicol Region

Much of Debbie’s preparing for APTS teaching and Dave’s publishing responsibilities can be done from our home in metro Legaspi, the capital of the Bicol region, thanks to the Internet. For most of our time in Legaspi, however, we will be focused on our ministry here in the Bicol region.

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

As we reported in our latest newsletter, we experienced a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit when evangelists Bill and Beth Juoni were with us last August. Our hearts are on fire to see this continue. In November, we held follow up seminar/revival meetings in several of the areas, and God met us in those meetings. We will continue in this type of ministry beginning in March and throughout the year as the Lord leads. For a long time we, especially Debbie, have been praying for revival and God has given us a prophetic word that it is coming. Has it started? We don’t know. Are we ready? We don’t know that either, but we continue to prepare our hearts and prepare our pastors and church leaders. Oh God, let the fire fall!

Training on the gifts of the Spirit during our seminars for pastors and leaders of house churches has been fruitful and we praise God for the outpourings of the Holy Spirit on several of our services lately where a number of people were used in tongues, interpretation and prophecies.  A pastor who had suffered with a neck injury after an automobile accident for over a year reported a sudden instant healing in one of the meetings.  We praise God for what He is doing.

We believe that another part of our response to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit since last August is more writing. Bill Juoni and Dave will be teaming up to write a book for Filipino believers on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which we hope to have ready by June or so.

Training for Pastors and House Church leaders

We have been blessed to travel around our district during this last year and train pastors and house church leaders in a number of key areas:  personal spiritual disciples, goal setting, love and respect mentoring, and conflict resolution and relationship strengthening.  We continue to also have a burden to further equip pastors for ministry in non formal setting and will be exploring potential opportunities in the months ahead.

Other opportunities

We continue to pray for God’s guidance on our priorities for 2013. Please pray for us that God would give us clear eyesight to see his plan and respond according.

Other opportunities will likely include hosting a couple of teams from the States and other foreign guests as the Lord sends them our way. Dave is also incubating a dream for another book. We will keep you posted if that dream starts becoming a reality.

Prayer Points

·        That we would walk in holiness and purity before God.

·        That we would love well.

·        That we would see God’s vision for our activities clearly and respond in a way pleasing to him.

·        That God would resource the vision

From our hearts to your homes, we wish all of you and your families a Blessed Christmas and healthy and prosperous New Year, trusting always in the Lord who holds the universe and each one of His beloved children in His hands.

Dave and Debbie Johnson

Family Ties

Thirty-seven years ago I left home to join the Navy--the first bird to permanently leave the nest. When I arrived home from basic training for my first furlough. my family gave me a hero's welcome and even wanted me to wear my dress uniform to church, regardless of the low rank revealed on my sleeve. Since then I have come and left again more times than I can count. While I always wanted to see my friends, early on I realized that most friends are in our lives for only a season. Few stay for a lifetime.

Not so with family although, even then, some things have changed over the years. My brothers married and started their own families. My mom has since gone to be with Lord and my dad later remarried. What has never changed, no matter how far the distance between us nor the fact that I no longer attend the church in the denomination of my parents, is that our family ties remain as close as ever.  And whenever Debbie and I do go home, they still give us a hero's welcome.

Morale of the story? Invest time with your family.

Freedom Isn't Free

Seventy-one years ago today, December 8, 1941, only eighteen hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Imperial forces of Japan invaded the Philippines, which was an American colony at the time. For five months, badly outmanned, outgunned and outgeneralled the American and Filipino forces battled their invaders, their blood mixing together in the Filipino soil. Holding out as long as possible on Coreigdor Island at the mouth of Manila Bay, they were forced to surrender in May, 1942.

Two and a half years later, Allied Forces under the command General Douglas MacArthur stormed the beaches of the Philippines, linked up with Filipino guerilla fighters and once again spilled their blood in liberating the Philippines from the hated invader.

Freedom isn't free.

But as evil as political domination by the enemy was and as wonderful as liberation can be, there is among mankind a much deeper problem. Sin. Alienation from God that leads to alienation among humans. The remedy for this could only be made by God himself, who loved us enough to shed the blood of his own Son on the Cross. In him, there is true freedom. To understand this better feel free to drop me a line or, better yet, read the Bible. It will set you free.

Fall 2012 Newsletter

Fall 2012 Newsletter

Assemblies of God Missionary to the Philippines

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

Hello Friends,

First, we want to wish all of you a blessed holiday season. May you know the presence, power and peace of Jesus!

Pentecost in Bicol For the last two weeks of August and the first week of September we hosted our good friends, Bill and Beth Juoni who are American AG evangelists from Wisconsin (junoib@cni-usa.com), for a series of meetings here. Over a three week period we traveled to ten places throughout the Bicol region of the Philippines, where we are based, doing seminars and revival meetings focused on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The aggregate attendance was about 1,200 people and about one half, as best as we could tell, either received the Baptism or refilled with the Spirit during these meetings. It was a wonderful moving of the Holy Spirit. We also loved having the Juonis with us! God has obviously anointed them to lead people into the Baptism and they are really good to work with (that’s missionary parlance for being joyously willing to live and minister in challenging situations that we can’t always control)!

Is this the opening showers of the coming revival that God spoke to Debbie about several years ago?  We don’t know, but we certainly want to be prepared when revival comes.

In response to these meetings we found ourselves praying “Lord, what next?” In other words, what can and should we be doing to help our people continue to walk in the burning fire of the Spirit. To date, God’s response to us has been twofold. One, we are to continue offering seminars and revival meetings to provide an opportunity for people become refreshed in the Spirit. We started the next round of meetings last week and will continue into mid December.

Second, the Holy Spirit has impressed upon Dave the need to do more writing. His newest book, Theology in Context: A Case Study in the Philippines, was in the works before the Juonis came and will be released by APTS Press in January. As a direct result of the Juoni meetings, Bill and Dave will be writing a book under the tentative title, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Answering Questions Filipino Ask. We don’t have a publication date yet, but Bill has already done a lot of the work on it and Dave will start soon. Other books will likely follow in due course.

An Appeal for Help We have some wonderful opportunities for ministry, but our account has run dry. Over the last six months we have accrued a deficit of $2,700.00. We cannot continue to do deficit spending. Would you please help us erase the deficit? Here’s how it can be done: (1) One, if you have pledged to support and are not up to date, we would appreciate it you could bring your giving up to date, (2) Perhaps you could increase your giving just a little bit, (3) if you are not currently supporting us, perhaps you would consider doing so or, (4) you could give a one time cash offering in any amount to help us make this up. On our part, we are doing our best to trim expenses. If you are already supporting us, you already know how to send the funds. Otherwise, you can give on our website, www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com, or the Assemblies of God website www.ag.org (just follow the links and look us up), or send your offering designated for us, AGWM account 225600, to 1445 Boonville Ave. Springfield MO 65802.

We would especially like to appeal to our friends and acquaintances outside of America to help at this time. Our American friends are doing their best in difficult economic times. Could you lend a hand as well? Giving through our website is easy.

While we do need to make this appeal because our situation is challenging, we refuse to be negative or defeatist about it! The future is as bright as the promises of God, and we are as excited as ever about what God is doing to bring in the harvest in the Philippines! So, let’s go on to more good news!

A New Edition of the Fire Bible! (See www.lifepublishers.org) We are both passionate about training workers for the harvest. Part of that vision includes making the Fire Bible, aka the Full Life Study Bible, available to as many of our pastors as possible. As far as I know, this is the only study Bible in print together written for Pentecostals. This study tool, with its commentary on much of the Scripture text, 77 articles, cross-referencing system, concordance, and many other features make it an ideal tool, especially for pastors and lay leaders who can’t get to Bible school or afford a large library.

Just a few months ago, in partnership with the Philippine Bible Society, we completed the translation into the Cebuano language of the Philippines. Cebuano is the dominant language of the central and southern part of the country, and we have more than a thousand AG churches in those regions. About two weeks ago, with officials from LIFE Publishers, the publishing arm of AGWM, and the Bible Society in attendance, we presented the Bible to a total of about 468 pastors and church leaders from across the evangelical community in public launches both in Cebu City and Davao. In every respect the launches were highly successful. The Fire Bible is not just an AG Bible; we believe it is for all Christians. The Bible Society is well positioned to make this Bible available across denominational lines and they will market the Bible in stores and at various events throughout the region next year and have asked Dave to travel with them to promote it.

Prayer Points (No particular order of priority. Just let the Spirit guide you!)

• For the financial situation mentioned above.
• For the Holy Spirit to be poured out on our region.
• For more people to be reached for Christ and more churches to be planted.
• For a serious situation in the national church here.
• For our missionary friends from other groups who also labor in this region.
• For God to show us more ways that we can care for the poor.
• For God to reveal ways we can reach out to the Muslims in our local areas.
• For the success of the Cebuano Fire Bible

We are joyfully yours because we are joyfully HIS!!

Dave and Debbie Johnson

PLEASE NOTE: Permission is hereby given to forward, print, and post this as long as it is done as a complete blog, and its authorship is acknowledged. Thank you for your cooperation.  For automatic notification of future blogs please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com and click on “join this site.”

Copyright 2012 Dr. Dave Johnson 

Judith and The Fire Bible

Judith and the Fire Bible

By Dr. Dave Johnson

Assemblies of God Missionary to the Philippines

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

Judith* was an avowed atheist and worked for a printing company that printed literature parroting this worldview. After a number of years, Judith’s printing press was sold to a new Christian publisher in the same town. In her country, the law required the Christian publisher to employ all of the employees of the press that they had purchased, so Judith the atheist began publishing Christian literature. She apparently didn’t mind. After all, a job was a job!

One day she was asked to proofread a new of the Fire Bible, also known as the Full Life Study Bible (www.biblealliance.org), in her own language that her company was printing under contract with LIFE Publishers (www.lifepublishers.org), the publishing arm of Assemblies of God World Missions. To do this job correctly, Judith had to read the Bible that she had been taught to despise! While she was carefully checking the grammar, punctuation and spelling, the Holy Spirit began to move in her heart, revealing God’s truth through the written Word and exposing the lies of atheism. She was convicted of her sin, acknowledged Jesus Christ as her new Lord and her life was radically transformed.

After completing the Russian Fire Bible, Judith’s company was asked to print other editions of the same study Bible in other languages. Since she couldn’t read these other languages, she became responsible for quality control, making sure that the pages were printed correctly and other jobs that did not actually require needing to read the text.

As she grew her faith, she grew in her passion to publish the Word of God. Today, Judith oversees the entire printing operation and has printed thousands and thousands of copies of the Fire Bible in the various languages of the world. The most recent edition she printed was 10,000 copies in Cebuano, one of the major languages in the Philippines.

This Bible was translated from the original English into Cebuano right here in the Philippines in a partnership between LIFE Publishers, which has now printed over 7 million copies of this Bible in 38 languages, the Assemblies of God missionaries in the Philippines (Dave was the managing editor for the project) and the Philippine Bible Society (www.bible.org.ph), who did the actual translation. They have been faithfully translating and printing the Word of God in this country for 113 years! LIFE put it in layout form in the United States and was printed and bound by Judith’s company and shipped to the Philippines.

This Bible will be used by our pastors and church members for the glory of God to grow in their faith and deepen the quality of their ministries throughout the Cebuano speaking region of the Philippines in anticipation of a greater harvest. We are believing that, because of this Bible, tens of thousands of lives, like Judith’s will be transformed by the power of God.

Thanks, Judith!

Thanks, LIFE Publishers!

Thanks, Philippine Bible Society!

And, especially, thank you Jesus!

*Not her real name

PLEASE NOTE: Permission is hereby given to forward, print, and post this as long as it is done as a complete blog, and its authorship is acknowledged. Thank you for your cooperation. For automatic notification of future blogs please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com and click on “join this site.”

Copyright 2012 Dr. Dave Johnson 

The Road Less Traveled

The Road Less Traveled

By Dr. Dave Johnson

Assemblies of God Missionary to the Philippines

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth;

. . . .I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”—from Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

Thirty seven years ago I left home to join the US Navy. I was the first of the kids to permanently leave the nest and enter the brave new world. Moving from my bedroom, however, to boot camp was quite a shock. Eighty men lived in one open barracks, where the only privacy was behind the door of a toilet stall.

I grew up in a conservative Christian home and came to Christ to at an early age. While I had attended a public high school, like a butterfly in a cocoon, my parents had successfully sheltered me from most of mankind’s depravity. It soon became evident that most of my boot camp buddies had had a different experience! Many, if not most, were outright pagans and felt no shame about living like one.

One day, while standing in line at 5am, it dawned on me that half hearted Christianity wouldn’t work because I had no place to hide. Humanly speaking I was on my own. It was time to sink or swim.

Unlike Frost, the fork in the road lay not in a forest, but at the foot of the Cross.

By God’s grace, I took the road less traveled.

Not that I can claim any credit for it. Jesus made this road possible by his death for my sins and subsequent resurrection. He offered me the choice to follow in society’s broad path or God’s less traveled way.

Not only did Jesus make this possible, he gave me parents that made my choice about the path probable. From the day I was born they shaped my values, attitudes, and behavior according to the Word of God. They weren’t perfect, but they were consistent. We went to church twice a Sunday, every Sunday. And when my father read the Bible nightly after supper, he was sure to stop, look at one of us boys, call one of us randomly by name and ask “What was the last word I read?” Woe to the poor child who wasn’t paying attention! While they obviously could not control the choices I would later make, they lost no opportunity to teach me, both by word and deed, what mattered most in life. Others, especially pastors and professors, have helped along the way but none have had the influence on my life that my parents had.

Over the last thirty seven years I have had many opportunities to observe the lives of those that took the other road, falling prey to its allures and enchantments, and it’s a dead end street. The road less traveled is full of twists and turns, problems and pitfalls, but it is the path that leads to eternal life.

And Christ has made all the difference.

PLEASE NOTE: Permission is hereby given to forward, print, and post this blog as long as it is done as a complete blog, and its authorship is acknowledged. Thank you for your cooperation.  For automatic notification of future blogs please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com and click on “join this site.”

Copyright 2012 Dr. Dave Johnson 

Shaping Leaders Through Spiritual Disciplines

Shaping Leaders Through Spiritual Disciplines

By Dr. Dave Johnson

Assemblies of God Missionary to the Philippines

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

[I am teaching this in pastors’s seminars right now and thought you might enjoy it as well.]

Many spiritual disciplines can be found in the Bible and in church history that have been used to mold and shape people into becoming the leaders God wanted them to be. We will not try to cover all of them here. The list below has been drawn from Kenneth Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001, pp. 82-97). These should be a part of our everyday lives. We will also see that these disciplines are linked together.

1.) Solitude (Psalm 23)

            a.) Solitude is important to hearing the voice of God. Moses was alone on top of Mt. Sinai. Jesus often got away from the crowds to pray by going into the desert, the garden of Gethsemane, or somewhere else to commune with his father.    

            b.) Finding a place can be challenging in a house full of people, so we will need to really make an effort to do this. One option might be to go to the church we attend. Or, if we can’t get away, we should consider getting up before the rest of the family early in the morning (to do this, however, might require going to bed earlier!). If we do this at home, be sure to turn off the radio and television.

            c.)  Finding extra time to spend with God may change your life.  Maybe once a month or twice a year, find some extra time to spend with the Lord – maybe half a day or a day, or even several days.  Spend time in prayer, meditation on God’s word and on just being alone in the wonderful presence of Jesus.

Exercise A:  Spend 5 minutes in silence,

praising Him without speaking, listening to Him.

2.) Prayer

            a.) Most Christians pray, but not all do it consistently. Make it a point to have a consistent time of prayer everyday, especially on days when you are busy.

            b.) Prayer in our devotional time is best done in solitude or with one or two others. In this case, finding a quiet place where you can be alone is critical.

            c.) When you pray, set your list of needs and requests aside and just listen for the voice of God. Learn to be patient and comfortable in silent in his presence. You will find peace, beauty, and joy there.

3.) Journaling

            a.) Keeping a journal gives us the opportunity to go back and reflect on what God has said to us in the past, and journals are better than our memories in this regard.

            b.) You can journal while you are in prayer in your quiet place or at other times.

            c.) You can write about

·        what God has done or is doing in your life or about

·        what He says to you.

·        what you did or are planning to do that particular day or week

·        about your thoughts and impressions about other people

·        and many other things

d.) Be sure you buy a journal that is made of good paper so that it will last a long

time.

            e.) When you fill up one journal, put it away in a safe place where it won’t get stolen or damaged in a flood and get a new one. You will likely want to pass this on to your children or grandchildren as part of your legacy to them.

Exercise B:  Write down below what you believe the Lord is saying to you right now during this training session.   Date _________  What God is saying to me: _________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.) Study and Meditation

            a.) Sadly, many Christian leaders, including pastors, do not study the Word of God consistently. But 2 Timothy 2:15 and other passages command us to do so. People cannot live by only by ordinary bread; we need the Bread of Life (Matthew 4:4).

            b.) Make sure that you have the entire Bible, not just the New Testament, because many of life’s most important lessons can be found in the Old Testament. You will also want to have a modern translation, preferably in Tagalog, so that you can read it easily. If you have to skip a few meals to have the money to purchase one be sure to do so. Nothing in life is more valuable than the Word of God.

            c.) You should develop a pattern of reading the Bible daily.

            d.) You might want to develop a systematic way to study the Bible such as studying a whole chapter, or whole book at one time. Whatever you do, don’t just skip around. The Bible yields its secrets to diligent, faithful study.

            e.)  Spend time meditating on the verses that excite you, one’s that the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you.  Write down in your journal what God is sharing with you.  Come back to this portion of scripture a couple of times a day the coming week in order to hear more from God. During each day, think about the verse that warms your heart.

            f.) The best time and place for Bible study is when you are alone with God, or in small groups like the house churches offer.

Exercise C: Write a short plan for Bible reading and meditation. Answer the following questions: Where will you begin reading and how far will you read before reading in another part of the Bible?  How often will you study and meditate?  Will you write what you learn in a journal?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.) Fellowship with other believers

            a.) Acts 2:42-47 gives us the example that the Christian life was meant to be lived in community with other believers. That’s part of what CPS is all about!!

            b.) No one is strong enough to live for Christ on their own—God made us in such a way that we need each other. Not only do you need others, they need you.

            c.) Together we can stand against persecution that often comes from family and friends.

            d.) We can learn so much about God from one another and encourage each other in our walk with him.

Exercise D:  Look at the five spiritual disciplines listed above and ask the Lord which ones He wants you to practice.  Then think of a plan to practice these spiritual disciplines.  Your plan should answer the following questions:

1.      When and where will you have your daily quiet time? ___________

2.      Which spiritual disciplines will you practice? __________________ ____________________________________________________

3.      When will you have fellowship with other Christians?  ____________

4.      Will you write in a journal?  __

5.      Will you plan some extra time with the Lord? If so when? ___________

6.      What is your goal in having spiritual disciplines? ___________________

_________________________________________________________________

Now share your plan with a partner or small group and pray for one another.

*All Scripture references are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

PLEASE NOTE: Permission is hereby given to forward, print, and post this blog as long as it is done as a complete blog, and its authorship is acknowledged. Thank you for your cooperation.  For automatic notification of future blogs please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com and click on “join this site.”

Copyright 2012 Dr. Dave Johnson 

Shaping Leaders Through Spiritual Disciplines

Shaping Leaders Through Spiritual Disciplines

By Dr. Dave Johnson

Assemblies of God Missionary to the Philippines

www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com

www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com

[I am teaching this in pastors’s seminars right now and thought you might enjoy it as well.]

Many spiritual disciplines can be found in the Bible and in church history that have been used to mold and shape people into becoming the leaders God wanted them to be. We will not try to cover all of them here. The list below has been drawn from Kenneth Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001, pp. 82-97). These should be a part of our everyday lives. We will also see that these disciplines are linked together.

1.) Solitude (Psalm 23)

            a.) Solitude is important to hearing the voice of God. Moses was alone on top of Mt. Sinai. Jesus often got away from the crowds to pray by going into the desert, the garden of Gethsemane, or somewhere else to commune with his father.    

            b.) Finding a place can be challenging in a house full of people, so we will need to really make an effort to do this. One option might be to go to the church we attend. Or, if we can’t get away, we should consider getting up before the rest of the family early in the morning (to do this, however, might require going to bed earlier!). If we do this at home, be sure to turn off the radio and television.

            c.)  Finding extra time to spend with God may change your life.  Maybe once a month or twice a year, find some extra time to spend with the Lord – maybe half a day or a day, or even several days.  Spend time in prayer, meditation on God’s word and on just being alone in the wonderful presence of Jesus.

Exercise A:  Spend 5 minutes in silence,

praising Him without speaking, listening to Him.

2.) Prayer

            a.) Most Christians pray, but not all do it consistently. Make it a point to have a consistent time of prayer everyday, especially on days when you are busy.

            b.) Prayer in our devotional time is best done in solitude or with one or two others. In this case, finding a quiet place where you can be alone is critical.

            c.) When you pray, set your list of needs and requests aside and just listen for the voice of God. Learn to be patient and comfortable in silent in his presence. You will find peace, beauty, and joy there.

3.) Journaling

            a.) Keeping a journal gives us the opportunity to go back and reflect on what God has said to us in the past, and journals are better than our memories in this regard.

            b.) You can journal while you are in prayer in your quiet place or at other times.

            c.) You can write about

·        what God has done or is doing in your life or about

·        what He says to you.

·        what you did or are planning to do that particular day or week

·        about your thoughts and impressions about other people

·        and many other things

d.) Be sure you buy a journal that is made of good paper so that it will last a long

time.

            e.) When you fill up one journal, put it away in a safe place where it won’t get stolen or damaged in a flood and get a new one. You will likely want to pass this on to your children or grandchildren as part of your legacy to them.

Exercise B:  Write down below what you believe the Lord is saying to you right now during this training session.   Date _________  What God is saying to me: _________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.) Study and Meditation

            a.) Sadly, many Christian leaders, including pastors, do not study the Word of God consistently. But 2 Timothy 2:15 and other passages command us to do so. People cannot live by only by ordinary bread; we need the Bread of Life (Matthew 4:4).

            b.) Make sure that you have the entire Bible, not just the New Testament, because many of life’s most important lessons can be found in the Old Testament. You will also want to have a modern translation, preferably in Tagalog, so that you can read it easily. If you have to skip a few meals to have the money to purchase one be sure to do so. Nothing in life is more valuable than the Word of God.

            c.) You should develop a pattern of reading the Bible daily.

            d.) You might want to develop a systematic way to study the Bible such as studying a whole chapter, or whole book at one time. Whatever you do, don’t just skip around. The Bible yields its secrets to diligent, faithful study.

            e.)  Spend time meditating on the verses that excite you, one’s that the Holy Spirit is pointing out to you.  Write down in your journal what God is sharing with you.  Come back to this portion of scripture a couple of times a day the coming week in order to hear more from God. During each day, think about the verse that warms your heart.

            f.) The best time and place for Bible study is when you are alone with God, or in small groups like the house churches offer.

Exercise C: Write a short plan for Bible reading and meditation. Answer the following questions: Where will you begin reading and how far will you read before reading in another part of the Bible?  How often will you study and meditate?  Will you write what you learn in a journal?

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5.) Fellowship with other believers

            a.) Acts 2:42-47 gives us the example that the Christian life was meant to be lived in community with other believers. That’s part of what CPS is all about!!

            b.) No one is strong enough to live for Christ on their own—God made us in such a way that we need each other. Not only do you need others, they need you.

            c.) Together we can stand against persecution that often comes from family and friends.

            d.) We can learn so much about God from one another and encourage each other in our walk with him.

Exercise D:  Look at the five spiritual disciplines listed above and ask the Lord which ones He wants you to practice.  Then think of a plan to practice these spiritual disciplines.  Your plan should answer the following questions:

1.      When and where will you have your daily quiet time? ___________

2.      Which spiritual disciplines will you practice? __________________ ____________________________________________________

3.      When will you have fellowship with other Christians?  ____________

4.      Will you write in a journal?  __

5.      Will you plan some extra time with the Lord? If so when? ___________

6.      What is your goal in having spiritual disciplines? ___________________

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Now share your plan with a partner or small group and pray for one another.

*All Scripture references are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

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Copyright 2012 Dr. Dave Johnson