» Momentum Devotional

Freely Love

Fetzner — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:49:27 +0000

Freely Love

1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV) “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” John 15:17 (NLT) “This is my command: Love each other.”

Think right now of some people that are easy to love… probably some of your friends or family, people that care about you and are kind to you. This is the power of the love that is freely given: This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:12&13) That is what Jesus did for us! He is the ultimate hero of love! Love is His super power!! J Now, think of some people that are harder to love… maybe someone that hurt you or just isn’t nice to you. In Matthew 10:8b, it says, “…freely ye have received, freely give.” “..that we might know the things freely given to us of God.” (1 Cor. 2:12b) Love is a free gift. You can’t buy it; you can’t make someone love you… To love is only by one’s choice. Love is all about giving and not taking. The Bible says that it is more of a blessing to give than to receive! Try it out sometime and see what happens. Take the time to read 1 Corinthians chapter 13. It is all about giving love.

Freely loving could make or break a home, church, or friendship. I have to constantly remind myself to make the choice to love and that it is not all about me. Love is a noun, but it is also a verb, and we have to put action behind our love. Just like faith without works is dead, love without action is dead. Never forget: God is love!

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 8:38&39

Let love be your highest goal! -1 Cor. 14:1a

- Brittany Henderson

Jesus Rejects

Fetzner — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:46:33 +0000

On the morning of September 11, 2001 at 8:45 a.m., a hijacked passenger jet, American Airlines Flight 11 out of Boston, Massachusetts, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center, tearing a gaping hole in the building and setting it afire.
At 9:03 a.m.: A second hijacked airliner, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes. Both buildings are burning at 9:03 a.m. and by 10:10 a.m.:United Airlines Flight 93, also hijacked, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh.
The World Trade Center’s north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke at approximately 10:28 a.m.

Out of 2,752bodies that were initially reported in this tragedy, only 1,527 have been positively identified.

As the years have snuck up on us and left since 9.11, the question arises in my heart: “Would God ever forgive someone for doing this? And for accusing God of being the initiator?!”

For us, as on fire believers, we know that we can always come into His awesome presence and find fullness of joy and forgiveness. No matter how stupid we’ve been. But what happens when we get in the way of ourselves? In other words, what happens if you slipped away from the anointing and did something as outrageous as killing someone? We know that Jesus died to forgive us, but could we ever forgive ourselves? Could we ever love ourselves again?

Too many times we have compared God’s love to the love that we have experienced in the world. For example: Have you ever had someone that you loved and respected hurt you? And hurt you in such a way that it literally hurt in the chest? It could have been a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or even a parent who you have felt rejected by. We love these people but their broken love has forced us to accept a false reality of what love truly is; therefore we end up treating ourselves the same way. We even get distorted expectations for God to treat us that way. And that is just a bunch of messed up junk!!!

In Acts 9:1 the Word of God says that “Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord..” He was doing everything in his power to get rid of Christians! To threaten them info fear and in need be to slaughter them!

During 9.11 Osama Bin Ladin, was in charge of destroying or “slaughtering” infidels aka, disciples of the Lord. Do you see a trend? In Acts 9, Saul had a face to face encounter with the Son of God and immediately had a life changing experience. Dude even got a new name. We all know about Paul going on to walk in the presence of God, doing extraordinary Miracles, writing 2/3 of the NT, and suffering for the Name of Jesus. God took the MOST UNLIKELY PERSON and used him for such a Glorious pursuit!

THOUGH, what do you think would have happened if Paul would have accepted God’s forgiveness but couldn’t forgive HIMSELF?? “Lord, I love you, but you are wrong…I will never be good enough for you……maybe the Blood of Jesus isn’t enough”. Pretty rough huh?

Every time that we let God in but we don’t forgive ourselves, it’s just as if we are saying that the Blood isn’t good enough! We are acting like JESUS REJECTS. We are king’s kids who don’t fit in around other king’s kids because of un-forgiveness with ourselves.

Paul was a modern day Osama Bin Ladin! People hated him and thought he deserved to rot in hell. He probably thought he deserved to rot in hell…..that is, until he forgave himself and came into the fullness of Gods Destiny for him!

Don’t be discouraged by the way the world treats you…even if they happen to be ‘believers’. NO ONE’S LOVE COULD EVER COMPARE TO THE LOVE OF GOD!
So stop comparing His love to anything else you have ever experienced! He is love. He loves you with no conditions! If the creator of Heaven and Earth, the creator of perfection and purity, could forgive you, …then you can forgive yourself. He desires to use you! He delights in you! He waits for your eyes to open every morning to experience the blessings that He has personally formed just for you!

Don’t miss out because you were misinformed about how awesome you are as His child.
Stop being a Jesus reject and start being the righteous in Christ!

Food For Thought: Don’t forget God has a plan for all of us….even Bin Ladin.

A. Evans

How Fragile is life?

Pastor Allen — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:47:37 +0000

Many times this question only comes up when people are sick or facing an impossible health situation like cancer, aids etc. But what about when seemingly nothing is wrong. Life seems to be going good, no problems and them wham! A slam out of the blue! You’re here one moment and gone the next!

Some of you may not even know what I am talking about. Let me explain. Recently(meaning today) one of the Associate Pastors of our church died from a massive heart attack. There was no warning. No symptoms. He and His wife had just returned from a cruise together! From the outside looking in, everything was moving along smoothly. They were planning a number of large outreaches to the Spanish community through their radio station. Including how to reach the Spanish community and congregation of our church more effectively! I even spoke to him yesterday(Sunday)morning in the lobby of the Church. He walked up to me and said his usual “Hola! Como Esta!”.. We hugged and I told Him that when I grow up I want to be just like Him! He laughed and gave that big smile and simply said “Me Too!”

This has been playing over and over in my head all day! When I arrived at the hospital and saw Him lying there all I could think of was His big smile and passion for life! He looked as though he was sleeping. Then it hit me! No man is promised tomorrow! No one is guaranteed that they will lay their head down on the pillow and wake to see another day!

We must not put eternity on the back burner of life! We must consider that at any moment of any day our “TIME” could be up! Our life could be expected of us! Now don’t get me wrong, because many will think I am speaking about living in fear for your life! I’m not!!! For the believer, death is a coronation! A graduation from this temporal, limited life on earth and a homecoming to that Eternal, limitless life spent in Heaven with our heavenly father!! We should live just as the saints of old looking forward to a city whose maker and builder is God!! Where pain and sorrow, lack and fear are not found anywhere!

Right now Pastor Noe Chaparro is dancing on the streets of Gold and moving into that Mansion made for Hm! I am sure that He is being greeted by all those that have gone on before Him. Even those that He has personally impacted on earth that have gone on before Him to be with the Lord!! They are all saying their “Thank You’s” for telling them about Jesus!! But if I know Pastor Noe, He is looking to see his Savior Jesus Christ face to face and to hug his neck!! Then right there on the spot He’s entering into that Worship service that has been going on for all eternity! Singing with the masses of people and all the Heavenly Host “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS OUR GOD ALMIGHTY!! WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME!!”

We all long for that day! Though Pastor Noe will be missed! We will be looking forward to that day, when we shall see that big smile again and share an embrace once again!!

But what about you? The one reading this! Is your eternity secure? Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt where you will spend eternity? My friend, the Bible makes it very clear. All have sinned and no one is perfect! The wages of that sin is Death!! BUT I have good news for you! The gift that God has available to you is eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ! The Bible says that “whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!”

Look at your life! What defines your life? The things you have, the people around you, the places you’ve been or the car you drive? These things will all pass away! And One day you will stand before the Lord to give an account of your life! When you stand there, none of the things will make a difference. It’s not enough to “know of God” for many know of Him! You must KNOW Him personally! Jesus said that the only way to the Father was through Him!!

Call on Jesus today! Don’t put it off til tomorrow! What if tomorrow never comes! When that day does come, the time for preparation will be over!!

If you would like to know for sure where you will spend eternity! You can know right now! The Bible says in Romans 10 that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your Heart that God raised Him from the dead you would be Saved!”

Right there, right where you are say this prayer with your heart and lips out loud! “Dear Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive me of my sin. Wash me and cleanse me. Set me free. Jesus, thank you that you died for me. I believe you died for me. And I believe that you are risen from the dead and you’re coming back again for me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Give me a passion for the Lost, a hunger for the things of God and a holy boldness to preach the gospel of the Jesus Christ. I’m saved; I’m born again, I’m forgiven and I’m on my way to Heaven because I have Jesus in my heart!”

If you said that Prayer, email us and let us know for more info!
Remember, as an old wise turtle once said in Kung Fu Panda, “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a mystery, But today is a gift, that is why it is called “The Present”. Enjoy the free Gift that God has given you and be sure to share it with all you know!!

P. Allen Hawes

A Hungerin’

Fetzner — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:08:53 +0000

Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! – Matt 5:6

I think a lot of times we as the body of Christ, (just as Christians individually) we come to a place of complacency. We live in this world and serve this God but we come to a turning point or a stopping point where we switch it. We begin to serve our life and ourselves rather than the Lord.

The Word of God always works, it has never been proven to fail. So we can find ourselves being out of the will of God and still recieve the promises that His word declares, and judge our life according to that. So you find yourself in a place where the blessing of God is evident in your life, but you lack the peace and joy promised by Him. Then you convince yourself ‘well i don’t really have joy or peace but i have all this other stuff going for me. I’m ok i guess’

Leonard Ravenhill used to say that if you weren’t moving forward you were backsliding. That is the truth for sure, maybe you aren’t ‘backsliding’ right away but but you will if you don’t keep moving forward.

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. – Phil 3:12-14

Three times in three verses Paul mentions how he presses forward toward what God has called Him to do. Even if we don’t know what to press towards, What God’s plan is we still need to go after Him. Before Jesus ever had any ministry for the disciples he called them to be with Him, so we always have Him to press toward and go after.

The point is that you have to be hungry for the things of God at all times. In the book of John Jesus speaks to the woman at the well about water that would satisfy to a point where she would never thirst again. There is a place of satisfied desperation. When we go after the things of God, and place our focus on Him our life is full of joy and peace. When we come to a place of being satisfied with our current state or relationship level with the Lord, that’s when you’re in trouble. When you stay hungry and keep after the things of God you don’t allow the junk into your life to grow any further.

By keeping yourself in a place of hunger and growth you allow the light of God to shine on all the dark areas of your life. God will keep showing you things that need to change and things that need to be taken away. If our focus is always more of Him and a deeper revelation of His love we’re golden.

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] – Phil 3:9

Don’t Quit

Fetzner — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:10:07 +0000

I can remember one of the earliest lessons i learned as a brand new born again Christian it was an illustration about testing…

imagine if God has His hands on you, this would be the times you’re totally in love with the Lord and everything is easy sailing because God is touching you. now imagine God takes his hands off you just a little bit. think of when you teach a child to walk, better yet you probably remember learning to ride a bike, and your parents are holding you up as you start to ride (no training wheels!) and they are telling you “I’m going to let go now” and you’re scared. but they are right there, they never left you just stopped feeling them.

And i can remember thinking What! no way how could i ever not feel high as a kite and have God not touching my life so easily and regularly?!

^2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 message

The Bible is very clear, black and white even (some red too: ) and Jesus said temptations would come, He said tough times were ahead (LK 17:1, 21-25). So check out that verse up there in James…. how often do we really consider it a gift when we encounter challenges?! more often we find ourselves grumbling and complaining! God does give us these amazing times when everything is easy, like you just coast on down the hill nice and fast. But God also gives us these awesome opportunities for us to find out what we are made of, where we pedal our butts off going uphill.

And it’s the times when we have to pedal our butts off that WE learn what we’ve got, God already knows what you got, to Him you lie naked (Heb 4:13) Jesus said we needed to pick up our cross and follow Him daily, sorry it’s not a one altar call deal this Christianity. Real Christianity lives and breathes in the daily dying to self, selflessness. You can not as a Christian be led by feelings and emotions. You need to do what God’s word says to do, whether you feel lead to or not.

In Philipians 3:12-14 Paul is talking about striving and pressing on toward the goal, the high calling of God, five times he refers to the prize and three times he speaks of pressing on. you just got to go, you have to keep pressing on. Even if you feel like you’re dragging your feet keep pressing on, never stop moving. you can’t quit because you’re not your own you were bought with a price and you don’t have a right to quit (1Cor 7:23) We only get one shot at this, life is just a dressing room for eternity.

“I wanted to stop, but I can’t. My chest burns, my throat is dry I feel like I am going to faint. My body begs me to stop but I make myself run another mile, two more miles up those hills. Pain all the time, I am in pain I hurt all over, I hate it but I am taking it. I am making myself suffer I have to suffer this is my last fight I know this is my last fight and this is the last time I will have to do it. Just a few more weeks of pain and suffering to live good all the rest of my life, to always be champion, to always wear the crown”

-Muhammad Ali at the age of 35

- Brian Fetzner

Busy Busy Busy!

Fetzner — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:06:14 +0000

It seems like life can get so busy sometimes; we run from one thing to the other and there just isn’t enough time to do all that we want to do. There is school, friends, chores, work, sleep, all these things that want your time and attention. In the midst of all of these things we must keep our focus on what really matters. Take a minute and examine your life; what is it that you are focusing on, what is your number one priority? We all must have a constant longing for more of God as our number one priority. Coming together at church is awesome but it has to go further then that, it must be a personal growing relationship between you and God.

Growing up I didn’t realize how important this was. I came to church every Sunday and Wednesday, I would pray before meals and when I went to sleep but I didn’t really take that much time to build my personal relationship with God. I loved the Lord but I wasn’t letting Him into every part of my life, I wasn’t putting Him as my number one priority. I would go to school during the week and when test and trials came I didn’t have much to stand on. It was like this cycle of going to church getting touched by God but then going back and doing whatever I wanted. Things would happen and I felt like life was tossing me form one direction to the other. I knew that wasn’t God’s best for me, and I could feel Him tugging on my heart. I remember one night finally deciding to surrender all, and from that moment on my life was changed. God became more real to me that ever before, I began to realize His hearts desire was to have a relationship with me.

Just like with a relationship in the natural, in order for your relationship with God to grow you must spend time with Him. We have to set aside time to get to know Him, who He is, and what He thinks about us. Jeremiah 29:13 says “And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.” God promises that when we seek Him with all our hearts we will find Him. He longs for a relationship with you and the more you put into your relationship with Him the more you will see it grow. How awesome is it that God, creator of the heavens and the Earth loves you and wants to spend time with you. He has wonderful plans for your life. He cares about you, He cares about your problems, no matter how big or small they are. Problems, tests and trials come to everyone but you will not be moved if you keep your trust in Him. The bible says in Psalms 91:1-2 “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God in Him will I trust!” Dwelling in the secret place with God, having a relationship with Him is a foundation for you to stand on. You can be confident and know in every situation that God will never leave you or forsake you.

No matter how busy we are or what comes our way, we must always remember what is really important. What really matters in the end, the things of this world that will pass away or God? Make the decision everyday to focus on Him and put Him as your number one priority. He is longing for a relationship with you but the choice is yours.

- Marijke Dam