Message

A steady Hope through the storms of life

March 19, 2025 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

The first two months of 2025 will remain etched in my heart forever.

My heart is heavy…

and it must be.

It feels like the weight of the world is pressing down,

and maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be right now.

My heart aches, and it has to.

Yesterday, I received a brief letter from a dear friend with this quote: “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” In these past few weeks, I’ve found myself reliving every precious moment with my parents. Now, they are more than memories, they are treasures forever engraved in my soul.

The waves of emotion, the ebbs and flows, have left their mark on my spirit. The sorrow, the grief, they’re not things I can run from.

They demand to be felt, to be carried…

something sacred in the pain…

the pain that leaves scars that cannot be ignored.

Yet, through the prayers, the cards, and the heartfelt messages from friends and loved ones, I’ve been carried from one stage of my soul’s journey to another.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

There is indescribable comfort in God’s presence, a steady hope that holds us through the storms of life. He grants us strength and gently reminds us of His unwavering promises, even when everything feels uncertain. Despite the heartache, confusion, and unanswerable questions, I cling to the truth that God is with me in every step of this journey.

I hold on to the living hope in Christ, a hope that will be forever etched in my heart, guiding me through this pilgrimage.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)

To you my friends, families and loved ones, thank you for being there with me and my family. Your thoughts and support provided me strength and healing.

God bless you!

Merlin

You are Not the center of it all…

March 27, 2022 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

I received a call in September 2021.

It was a surprise call. ” Would you like to go to Israel…, all expenses paid?“, a friend of mine asked. I thought he was kidding! No one would offer someone an all-expenses paid 10-day trip to Israel, especially, I haven’t heard from him for a while.

It was for real!

After exchanging phone calls with my friend, I knew it was for real. However, I tried not to be too excited because it was too good to be true. In spite of my feelings, I went ahead and prepared everything for the trip in December – my passport, my credentials and everything. However, just 2 weeks before we were to depart, the COVID restriction did not allow us to leave.

This is not going to happen

“I was right“, I said to myself affirming that this trip was not going to happen. I was bummed out nonetheless. Then right after Christmas, my wife and I contracted Covid. Then in late January, my hope was renewed when I received an email from the sponsoring ministry – @IsraelCollective that we are going to Israel on Feb. 7th!

My hopes suddenly raised up to higher expectations!

On Feb. 7th, 2022, I found myself in an airplane en route to New York on to Israel.

At Mt. Of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Riven and Bethsaida.

Days later, I was taking pictures of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, the Temple walls, Bethlehem, etc.

Perhaps I will share with you more of the details of my trip but this blog is not about my trip…

… it is about what God is doing in our lives.

It was not solely about the journey

I believe in popular saying to enjoy the journey. However, after my wonderful journey to the Holy Land, I found out it was not so much about the trip…

… it was about God’s message to me. It was not about the location but about the condition of my heart… about my personal relationship with Jesus. Although I can say that I walked where Jesus walked and proved to myself that there is a Dead Sea and the Mt. of Olives, what hit me the most was “the Jesus in flesh” – the people who chose to be in a land where most people thought it was a peaceful place, a holy place in the earth.

On contrary

Most of us thought Israel is a peaceful place to live. It is not! While I was there, Syrians launched missile to Israel but they intercepted it. We visited the borders of Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip… I can tell you from what I gathered, Israel is in turmoil more than the US. As Steve Khoury, a second generation Pastor of the largest Arab Evangelical church in east Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, wrote in his book, “It the Backyard of Jesus” Close encounters with death haunt me everyday, keeping me in touch with the reality that without Christ my battle is already lost.

However, I felt safe walking alone at night in the small and dark streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv than the streets of Indianapolis, the surrounding countries are at war against them. Somehow, the rich history of Israel, mainly the Jews in the Old Testament, the birth of Jesus and the expansion of Christianity, the Muslim conquest of the Levant that led to the submission of Jerusalem in 637-638 AD, the series of religious wars or the Crusade that started in 1099 AD and countless religious, political and cultural interactions, the inhabitants learned to live in diversity.

Our lives

There are random things that happen to our lives and we try our best to fit them in our small boxes. Sometimes we make our judgment based on our limited perception and experience. We live a world where ourselves come first before others. However, the Scripture says we should honor others – It is better to give than to receive, to be first, you have to be the last, treat others as you would want to be treated…

God is the center of the universe, not us.

So in this short message, I hope that you saw what God is doing in our midst. He is omnipresent and knows what we are going through in our lives. You and I are not the center of the universe… it is God!

The 3 images

August 31, 2015 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

August 31, 2015

This morning, I woke up at 2am and could’t go back to sleep because I had an allergy attack. By 3:30am, I was still awake sneezing and blowing my nose. Then, I asked God if He has a message for me since I am staying awake.

I propped up my head with another pillow. I finally fell asleep – maybe around 4am. Then I dreamt.

My dream:

I found myself in a war zone. There were all kinds of noise and commotion. There were 3 enemy soldiers who were coming at me. I had a rifle in my hands; I aimed and pulled the trigger.

I fired at the enemy

“Bang”, the enemy went down. However, 2 more were coming at me but I didn’t know how to cock the rifle. The enemies were coming fast so I used the bayonet and killed both of them with it.

Soon, I ran away from that place to hide from the enemies. I saw buildings abandoned, streets were ravaged by bombs and total chaos all around. I found an abandoned building and tried to hide behind a wall while several people were passing by. There were a few other people hiding with me; they said that the people passing by are not enemies.

Next, I found myself in their camp. I saw an abandoned building where they house refugees – about 30 of them in the basement. I got to know some of the top leaders of the group. A man name Patel allowed me to see inside the building.

The refugees were children, parents and grandparents. They were all sleeping in beds made of ply wood, around 7 of them. Each bed is full of people lying in opposite directions to allow them to fit in the bed.

Later, I met an African American lady, she’s the refugees’ teacher. She comes on a regular basis to teach them for about an hour, then she goes back to her place. I later found out that she lives close by the building. Her place was the only one standing in an apartment-like building. Through the window, I saw that her place has electricity, a desk where she studies and a couch in the living room. However, the rest of the building was dilapidated.

As I was talking with Mr. Patel, the Lord showed me 3 images. I asked the Lord

what they represent. Towards the end of my dream, the answer was revealed.

Then, I saw Randy Clark was one of the leaders (Randy is a well-know apostolic Christian leader who has played a major role in bringing the Toronto blessings in the mid 1990’s when the Holy Spirit came in power upon a congregation calling out to the Lord.) I followed him and he showed me a large generator. There was some problem in it but he quickly fixed it. He commented that it seems like you have to do the mechanical things more than being a spiritual leader. It made me think – why did he say that?

We walked back towards the refugees’ building that seemed concealed. It is inside a compound with a large gate in the front. As you enter the gate, the entrance seemed like a quick sand. It was like a big mud hole and only small vehicles can go around it. From the look of it, I think the hard soil to the side of the gate is wide enough only for a motorcycle.

As we enter the building, we had to slide ourselves through a square hole on the side of the building since the door is impassable. I thought – how can the teacher go through that small opening? I thought that she was not fit and small enough to fit through it, but I was wrong.

I noticed that the enemies were marching on the side of the building but they didn’t seem to notice the building. An answer came to me – when the Glory of God is over you, the enemies cannot touch you.

This time, the refugees were awake. Mr. Patel instructed the leaders to line up the refugees in rows across the yard out side the building within the compound for the teaching of the day. It was a sunny day. He sat on a chair, grabbed a fresh donut in a box and he took a big bite. He said to have the refugees do the same. I was about to ask him “Why”, but he saw that I was going to ask it so he said that they should experience the enjoyment of eating a donut like the people in France during peacetime.

I saw that the leaders were so busy most of the time in the compound and I asked myself why they don’t raise new leaders to help them in running these band of people. I was about to offer my assistance to the leaders, but then I woke up.

I was still half awake in my bed trying to wake up. I asked the Lord what the 3 images represent. Quickly, I got the answer – CHURCH, SCHOOL and MONEY. We need to have those during calamities. As I was starting to type this dream, I wondered why food and water were not listed. My answer was delivered to me right away – the Lord will provide. Then I was reminded of the Israelites when they crossed the desert – although they had bread and livestock when they left Egypt, those were not enough to last them all through the 40 years of wandering. It was through the powerful hand of God that they received manna and water in the desert.

Next, I will share with you what we think is the interpretation of the dream.

God bless you,

Merlin

Getting to the root…second dose

June 10, 2015 Selena Design Blessings blog, Message

Many years ago, I was a part of our church’s Prayer Team. After Sunday service, my wife and I would be stationed at a place in the sanctuary to pray for people. We had this weird experience that almost every week, the same person come forward asking for the same prayer request. After praying for her each week, she seems fine but the following week, we see her again. And guess what, she would ask to pray for the same issue.

Temporary Relief

Our prayer appears to give her relief temporarily and then, we’re chasing after the same issue again the following week. We spin around the bush and go after the same usual suspect. The same weeds in her life keep cropping up. They’re like dandelions and crabgrass. We nuke them to the ground with weed eater but in a few days, they come back again.

Finding the main root

As I shared with you 2 weeks ago, we need to deal with the root of the problem to realize healing. All of us deal with this, whether you are a client or a volunteer at a food pantry; it does not discriminate. We see this same pattern at the food pantries that FHL incubate. There are people who are not only in crisis but in chronic crises. They operate their lives in constant emergency and finding themselves in the same situation as before. Why? The main root is too deep and it has countless root hair or root stems that manifest themselves in endless different ways.

Pluck it!

The Lord created us and He knows the root of the problem. When we find ourselves getting stuck in the same deep-seated issue, we should ask God to give us grace to identify the root cause. Once we identify the root, we pray in the Name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, will walk us through to pluck the root of the problem to bring us to healing.

Although there may be countless root stems, once we pull out the main root, every fiber of the weed will die out. This is the reason why we teach the pantries to help others beyond food. No, we’re not counselors but we try to walk along side each and every person to Jesus through prayers and by presenting the Gospel of Christ. If the person is willing, God will reveal the root issues of their hunger, both physically and spiritually.

No matter how big the root is, God is bigger. And one more thing, food is not the answer to hunger, God is.

PS. You may have already received a call from FHL to thank you for your support and to offer prayers. We just prayed for you yesterday at our weekly staff meeting. Please let me know if I could be of assistance in asking God to getting (if any) to the root… He can pluck it. He is the Gardener and He is the Healer.

God bless you and I thank God for you,
Merlin

Image source: Mango tree root system, wikimedia commons

I’m ready to quit now…

June 8, 2015 Selena Design Blessings blog, Message

“…but I can’t“, says one of the Pastors I met this morning.

As soon as he entered the office, I saw that he needed encouragement and prayer. “Something bothering you?”, I asked. He said that his hip has been hurting but I also see in him that he is discouraged. I have been discipling him for several years and we are now good friends. He trusts me and I trust him.

The reward is out of this world

I told him that serving God is the best thing we can ever do in this life but it will cost us everything. It is not easy but quitting is not an option. Sometimes, we struggle with relationships, finances, spiritual and physical ailments. However, we have to endure because the reward is out of this world…literally.

God said in John 14:1-4, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.” – NIV

I remember when God used me to negotiate on his behalf regarding the house that he was renting to own. The detached garage caught in fire and damaged one side of the house. God put in my heart to help him. After a series of conversations, the landlord gave him the house plus a few thousand dollars to repair it!

After I reminded him that he will not be paying house payment soon, he perked up. Before he left the office, my wife and I prayed for him. He left the office encouraged and felt

the joy in the Holy Spirit.

Full of promises

Today is a new day full of promises. The Bible says, dwell in the things of heaven rather than the world’s because our final destination is eternity with Jesus.

If you feel discouraged or defeated, I would like to encourage you to speak with someone; you’re never alone. If you want to know more about the promised eternal life, speak to a Pastor or contact me at 317-578-3370.

Quitting is not an option.

God bless,

Merlin