Breakthrough Growth

"...I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not stand against it." Matt 16:18

There are certain living things in this world that keep growing no matter what kind of barrier is put in front of them. Are you one of them?

I have a friend who was training to be a police officer a few years ago. Part of the training included and obstacle course with a 6ft wall near the end. No badges are given out until you clear it.

Day after day - week after week, she hit that wall with abandon, but never quite made it over. By then, many reasonable people would've justifiably given up. They could tell themselves, "Maybe this just isn't for me" or "I guess it's a man's job after all..." The only thing between her and a lifelong dream was that stupid wall!

God wants to grow, build and create new life everywhere he can by using whoever he can. All he needs is people who think like him. Are you like a bonsai plant, which let's the trimming limitations of others determine its growth? Or are you a relentlessly rooted redwood that sees a brick wall in your way and feels sorry for it?

My friend finally conquered her wall after all. She prayed, quoted Scripture and believed God for the help. I don't know how many times it actually took, but that doesn't really matter once your on the other side.

How tall is your wall today?



See you on the other side,
Brandon and Pamela
Freedomhouse Church, Camden

Tuesday Telegram: Blast From the Past

Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance-all who seek the Lord!
Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! Isaiah 51

First of all, let's get a few cliches concerning the past out of the way.

• "You don't know where your going, until you know where you've been."
• "Hindsight is always 20/20"
• "No use crying over spilled milk"
• "Nostalgia will stall'ya"

Do you ever feel sorry for those bands who can't survive a concert without performing nearly every song from their 'golden era'. When they try to play anything new, it's usually received with loud shouts for the oldies. It must be frustrating knowing that people will never appreciate your new songs as much as the ones you've played a few thousand times.

The past can be a tricky thing sometimes, especially if your a Christian. When times get tough, we can look backwards to days when it was much 'easier' and life seemed more golden. The lies of the devil are a very real thing. They can actually alter our memories and give us a hind sight that is anything but 20/20.

Ever find yourself having fond memories of terrible times? We can also vadalise our recollections of the good times we've had with God and his people. Sometimes we just plain forget the great miracles the Lord has done in our lives. Like those old bands, we want to move forward, but we're just stuck in the same old rut.

The past was meant to give us strength to reach for the future. God uses the struggles and victories of those that came before us to inspire a new song out of our lives. He really wants to hear it. We can cherish the lives and lessons of the past, but we cannot moonwalk into the future!



Chamon'
Brandon and Pamela
Freedomhouse Church, Camden

Look out this weekend for the new Freedomhouse Website.
It will have stories of the past and songs of the future for God to get glory around the world...
Wait til' Sat. to open this present www.freedomhouse.org.uk

Signs of Resurrection

And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter." Acts 17:32

There are signs of resurrection everywhere. While most aren't as blatant as the one this women is walking by, we can react just like her sometimes; constantly walking by the obvious or subtle signs of God's eternal goodness while minding our own business.

As spring approaches, we will begin to see withered looking trees bloom with color and new born lambs running around (if you go out of the city of course). Since the beginning, creation itself has testified of God's glory as well as the resurrection of the dead. Why then is it so hard to see it and believe it these days?

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the people noticed the obvious messianic sign and responded with a great noise. Certain people wished everyone would ignore it and be quiet, But Jesus said if they don't celebrate, then he knows some rocks who will. It's in their very nature to testify of their eternal Creator.

This Easter season, let's fulfill what we've been created to do by being a sign that the world cannot ignore. Let your testimony of resurrection spill out of your mouth and from your hands. As the world quietly observes a holiday tradition, we can celebrate a living reality. Christ has risen from the dead and is alive in his children.

Can you be a sign that won't be ignored? Or will you let some bricks do your job for you?



Alive again through Him,
Brandon and Pamela Munoz
Freedomhouse Church, Camden

PS: Join us for a special testimony service this Sunday. Invite some friends and family with you and let's celebrate the resurrection together.

The Seed That Waited 2,000 Years

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever...1 Peter 1:23

There is a young palm tree named Methuselah growing in southern Israel right now. What's so special about that you ask? Well, the seed it was planted from was carbon dated at 2,000 years old.

Excavated from the ruins of Herod's Palace in Masada during the 1970's, the patient seed was sitting in a professor's drawer waiting for someone crazy enough to plant it. (Enter Dr. Soloway) In 2005 she soaked it in hot water and stuck it in some fertile dirt. The date palm tree that now grows is expected to bear fruit in 2010.

Around the same time those seeds first hit the ground, there was another patient seed being planted in the heart of a rabbi named Nicodemus. One dark night, he asked Jesus, "How can someone be born if they are already old?"

Jesus answered him with poems and parables. It's like Christ was saying, "I couldn't explain it to you if we had another thousand years to discuss it. Just be born again and see for yourself..." It's not that Nicodemus wasn't sincere, he was just selectively stubborn, much like us.

This week we'll be exploring the inexplicable thing that happens when someone is born again. Is it just a psychological gimmick or does something supernatural actually take place? I don't know about you, but I'd like to know if Jesus was giving Nicodemus more than a spiritual riddle.

So riddle me this...How can someone be born if they are already old?



Maybe we should ask Methuselah...
Brandon and Pamela Munoz
Freedomhouse Church, Camden

Roots to Fruits

The time is coming when my people will take root.
Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with her fruit! Isaiah 27:6

Would you rather grow or just grow old?

One is inevitable, the other is a choice. It's one you make several times a day whether you know it or not.

Like the illustration above, many of us have become satisfied and settled within our own small world of addictions and excuses. Though we rarely admit it; justifying, blaming or making empty promises to "pray about it". Deep inside we begin to believe that first-person miracles are a thing of the past and an Almighty God can't really move 'mountains like mine'.

Remember, this abundant life was given for us to bear the ripe fruit of eternity on this earth, not to watch it rot. This Sunday, Freedomhouse Church will begin to explore the infinite potential of a life rooted in truth and fruitful in good works. The kind that change habits, alter circumstances, overcome fears, and testify to this world that God is definitely alive!

Are the fruits of God's Truth, Promises and Possibilites finding their way onto the withered tree of your little world? If not, then maybe this is an issue worth dealing with. If you happen to be living a victorious life of daily transformation, great! Now you can help others discover the simple secret of an uncynical commitment to Christ.

If you have a desire to see the resurrection of Jesus become a tangible and touchable reality, come with us as we learn how to connect the Roots to the Fruits. Let's give God as much glory as possible in the days and years to come...

So, would you rather grow-up or just grow old?



Getting older and bolder,
Brandon and Pamela Munoz
Freedomhouse Church, Camden