FHL Indiana

John 14:23-27 Part 2

May 24, 2013 Merlin Gonzales FHL Indiana, Message

It’s been almost 3 weeks since my past posting.

So, how can we resist the devil and sin? Jesus said in verse 26, that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. The Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that Jesus had while He was here on earth. He is our Comforter and He provides us power to live a life of joy and peace. A believer can be filled by the Holy Spirit again and again in his life. The Holy Spirit will reside inside of us. He enables us to be strong to resist the devil.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper, which means that we can do the things through Christ who strengthens us. You may say, I continue to sin but I don’t have the strength to resist it. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength and He will provide you supernatural power not only to resist sin but also to overcome your weakness.

As we yield to the Spirit, our relationship with the Lord will go deeper. We will be able to live a victorious life. As God resides in us, we will hear more from Him, we will have peace that surpasses understanding. Verses 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

One of the best ways to have a peaceful heart is to immerse ourselves in the love of God. When we become saturated with His love, our heart will beat with His heart, our thoughts will be dominated with what’s pure, rather than unclean thoughts. Our action will manifest our love for God and will be evident by our lives. We will be able to forgive others and release the toxin of unforgiveness.

Let me tell you a story of unconditional love that transcends the life of a person who was abused for many years. This is a story of a woman born in Sudan more than 100 years ago. Her family was rich and she grew up in luxury. But she was kidnapped by Arabs and sold her as a slave. She was forced to walk 600 miles barefoot. She was sold as a slave several times. As a slave, she experienced beaten so bad that she was not able to get up from her bed for a month. One of her masters beat her every day for years. Her suffering was so severe that she forgot her name.

Her most terrifying memories was when her master carved images on her breast and stomach with a razor knife and then putting salt on the wounds to leave a deep scar on her body. She was resold again to an Italian family who was very kind to her.

Later in her life, she served the Lord as a cook and a door keeper for religious organization. She was later known as a missionary. Her gentleness, calming voice, and ever-present smile became well known and Vicenzans still refer to her as Sor Moretta (“little brown sister”) or Madre Moretta (“black mother”). During the Second World War (1939–1945) she shared the fears and hopes of the town people, who considered her a saint and felt protected by her mere presence. The war passed without one single casualty in their town.

A young student once asked Bakhita: “What would you do, if you were to meet those who kidnapped you (captors)?” Without hesitation she responded: “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian…”.

When she became old, she used wheelchair and was in a lot of pain. But she retained her cheerfulness, and if asked how she was, she would always smile and answer “as the Master desires”.

God is above everything and everyone

Through the cruelty of man, God can show His love to you. Jesus showed His love to humanity through the cruelty of the Roman soldiers who tortured Him and crucified Him.
Through your life circumstances, God can show His power over your life. Many people are hurting right now. You can provide hope to those who are dying for someone to talk to.

As Christians, we can be an example of God’s character in our neighborhoods. God is above everything and everyone.

We cannot do these on our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit to empower us. The Scriptures said that Jesus left the earth but promised His disciples a Helper, Comforter and will bring heaven on earth through the Holy Spirit in us.

Today, you can receive the Holy Spirit again so you can do supernatural things that will expand the Kingdom in your neighborhood.

Our awareness directs our action

April 30, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, KIOM

In Genesis 28, Jacob was running away because of his lies in the past. He was at a low point in his life – in the desert both figuratively and physically. However, God reassured His promises even though Jacob knew that he messed up repeatedly. Jacob was in no position to earn God’s favor but God promised to be with him. This event marked the beginning of Jacob’s lifelong relationship with God. Since then, he operated his life at a higher level, he believed God even through the tough times in his life. He trusted God’s promise in the midst of being taken advantage of by his Uncle Laban over and over again. His awareness expanded beyond the physical realm.

‎”Our awareness directs our action and our collective action changes our culture.” ~Merlin Gonzales

We are aware of the benefits of exercise. How about eating healthy foods and getting enough sleep, living a less stressful life and the importance of education? All these are good information that everyone should know about. It could change how you feel, how you look and how you live. But they are only information; unless you act on them, they will remain in your head and they may not have a direct effect in your life.

Awareness directs our action but only when you act on it, then it will have impact on your life. You act on things that are important and according to your priority. A good example that all of us can relate to is breathing. Everything stops in your life until you have your next breath. If you are under the water and needing to breath, you don’t stop to think about the nice coral or fish next to you. All your energy, all your focus will be to swim above the water. The information of not breathing is good but until you act on it, you’ll die.

Our next step is to expand our awareness of the Kingdom so we can see what’s available to us and how we can act on it. If all the aspects of your life, your family, your work, your money, your business, your promotion and your future depends on the Kingdom of God, what would you do today, tomorrow or the rest of your life? How would your priorities change, how would you rearrange your schedule, where will your focus be?

My next Blog will be about simple steps to expand our awareness of the Kingdom.

The Next Step

April 6, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, KIOM

Previously, I wrote the article about Missional Community and the most recent one was about taking the time to be intentional to have a transformational community.

I mentioned that I will be writing about the next step towards building missional community. In order for us to have lasting changes, we need to build a strong foundation. Our foundation is the Biblical Principles.

I am currently conducting a teaching series on “a study on Living in God’s Dominion Here on Earth.” Here’s Session #1 Introduction to the Kingdom

Be blessed!

Merlin

Take the time and be intentional

March 26, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, KIOM

Completed illustration of the KIOM Video Trailer

You are probably wondering what the heck the image above is. Well, check this video to see Take a fresh look at your communities.

In my previous Blog, I asked you to take a second look at your community. What did you see? Did you walk your neighborhood, did you talk to the people in your church or in your school or the Cashier at a grocery store?

If you were not able to, there’s grace for all of us. But if you did take the time to “explore the land”, you should notice some obvious things that became familiar or were neglected – in the physical, emotional or spiritual realm.

Two years ago, I found out that my cholesterol was high. I tried to eat healthy foods and I exercised regularly. However, the busyness in my ministry prevented me from following through what I’ve started. Last Saturday, I found out that my triglycerides was very high. If I wanted to live longer and live a healthy life, I need to take the time to exercise and to be intentional to eat healthy foods. (I’ve started eating healthy foods and did some exercise last night and this morning – shoveling snow).

So the first step in order for us to have healthy neighborhoods, we will need to the take time to see what’s happening and we need to be intentional. In order for a change to happen, we need to know what needed changes. We need to find what the problem, then we can start finding the solution.

BTW, hope you liked the video trailer; please consider sharing it with others as we work towards missional communities.

Missional Community

March 22, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana, KIOM

One of FHL Food Pantries

Take a “fresh look” at your community. Yes, take a second look with your keen eyes and see what’s obvious.

Many times, the obvious gets neglected. Just look around you as you are driving to work, to your church or to your school. What do you see…I mean, look around with observant eyes. How’s the sidewalks, how’s the person driving the vehicle next to you or how’s your fellow student or your co-worker who has been indifferent. They are apparently present in our world and yet we miss them.

FreshLook Our society had become so enamored with the conveniences of modern living that made our lives complicated and we tend to become individualistic creatures. We are busy people. Many of us spend more time gazing at our smart phones than our spouses or our loved ones.

I would like to ask you to “take a fresh look at your community” again. What direction is your community going if you accept the status quo? Do you see deterioration, self-centeredness, residents are living in fear and oppression? How’s the environment? Or, do you see a Missional Community where the atmosphere is charged with vigor, joy, freedom, helping one another and caring for each other. Are the neighborhoods clean, safe and vibrant?

When you look again, do you see little things that can make huge impact? Do you see your neighbors getting involved in making it a better place for your family and for your community? What would the church at the street corner say if you offer your assistance to come alongside them to reach out to others? How would your employer or the principal of a school nearby react if you approach them to build a Missional Community – a place where residents are caring for each other, a place where all the sectors of the community come together to build safer and healthier neighborhoods?

Yes, I believe that together, we can build a society known for its hospitality, cleanliness and prosperous in any way possible. My next blog will provide you with practical steps that we can take to transform our neighborhoods together.

God bless,

Merlin Gonzales