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Lord, what have I got myself into

June 17, 2015 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, blog

Last Saturday, June 13th, 2015 I woke up around 7:30am and remembered that I was to help my daughter move out from her apartment. I rushed to get ready because I wanted to finish her move before the expected rain around 3pm.

Expecting that I would be doing some physical work during a 90-degree weather day, I ate a good healthy breakfast. With a tank full of gas, I proceeded to drive my F150 from Noblesville to Greenwood.

I needed to catch up with my devotional, so I plugged in my iPhone to my truck’s radio to listen to my audio Bible while driving. My attention was focused on the verses of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles as I was exiting from the freeway, trying to absorb whatever I could while driving safely to my destination.

While looping through the exit and listening intently to the verses, I saw a woman walking on the side of the road with her hand waving to catch a ride. I have never stopped to pick up riders before, but before I knew it I suddenly found myself pulling over to give her a ride. She opened the truck door and flicked her cigarette butt before hopping in my truck.

Since it was my first time to pick up a rider, I was very cautious in her every move. I noticed that she immediately put her purse on the floor, placed a large black-covered book on the seat and realized it was a Bible. She proceeded to buckle the seat belt. I turned off my audiobook. After a few seconds, I asked her what happened to her vehicle. She said that she does not have a vehicle and she walks everywhere.

I asked her where she’s going and she told me that she needs to go to a place which is about 5 miles away from where I picked her up. “I have not slept for a few days“, she said, “so I am going to that place to sleep“. I told her that I will not be able to bring her there since it is out of my way and I have to be somewhere immediately. She said that it would just take me 2 minutes to bring her to her destination. I complied silently.

Suddenly, she told me that she was raped just a few days ago. “I asked the guy to pay me $25 for sex since most of them do not want to pay more than $25 but this guy just does not want to pay me; so he raped me“, she said. I thought to myself “Lord, what have I got myself into” and prayed as soon as she finished her sentence.

Stay tuned for the next segment of the story…

God bless,

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

Paying Taxes

April 15, 2015 Merlin Gonzales blog

During this tax day, I thought I should challenge you to put some thoughts about taxes.

²⁴After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵“Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” – Matthew 17:24-27

Although Temple tax is different than the tax that we pay our government, would the Christians be also exempt from tax? I heard from a leader of a ministry that Christians are tax-exempt because they are children of the King of kings. All authorities in heaven and on earth and all creation is under God. This means that the government is under God. Therefore, Christians are tax-exempt. Right?

Here’s what Apostle Paul said about the government tax. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. – Romans 13:6-7

In Romans 13:1-5, Paul expressed that God established the government but not the sins and abuses of those in power. Verses 6 and 7 specifically point our attention to paying taxes to government. Notice the word pay as a debt. By paying taxes, we give our support to the power, however, we also receive the blessings of the authority. So by paying taxes, we share the power and the blessings of our government.

Now that I probably confuse you, it is still the deadline to file our taxes.

God bless,

Merlin

Liberty in Christ

April 8, 2015 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

The ass who was never satisfied

The Ass and His Masters

An Ass, belonging to an herb-seller (gardener) who gave him too little food and too much work made a petition to Jupiter (a pagan god) to be released from his present service and provided with another master. Jupiter, after warning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner. The Ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master’s occupation, said, groaning: “It would have been better for me to have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him.” He that finds discontentment in one place is not likely to find happiness in another.

The Bible tells us that the Israelites were never content and have been ungrateful to God. Time and time again, they easily forget what God has done for them and against their oppressors.

Let’s look at the Book of Judges Chapter 10:6 – 11:3

Someone wrote, “Most people mess up something good by looking for something better just to end up with something worse.” Have you find yourself looking for greener pastures?

The Israelites has a history of always looking for greener pasture even though God has told them to stay away from the idols and beliefs of the nations surrounding them. In verse 6, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines.”

We see here the word “again” which means that the Israelites have been serving idols (or the pagan gods) over and over again! What’s an idol?

An idol is anything that we think is more important than God. What are they?
It could be a person, money or any kinds of activity.
Look back in your life now, what are the things that value over God. Have you glorify the creation over the Creator?

Regret and Repentance

In verse 10, “Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, ‘We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.’”

Because of the pain and suffering that the Israelites have experienced, they prayed to God once again. They regretted what they had done. They are now in agony!

They felt bad about abandoning God and they experienced the consequences of their sin.
Similar to the Ass or the donkey on the fable, regret happens when you suffer and you want to get out of it.

In your current situation, what are the things that you regret, the things that give you anguish or dissatisfaction?

The differences:

Regret
- Regret is a negative emotion that brings a person into downward spiral because of dwelling in it. You get drown into self-contemplation.
- Regret is when a person continuously thinks about his/her mistakes.
- Regret leaves a person in a state of anxiety, anger, hatred and depression.
- It is a negative emotion and the donkey, a person who regrets would normally do the same mistakes over and over again.
Repent
- It is a positive emotion that compels a person to change the direction of his/her life. It’s a complete turn around. Like this morning, I my wife and I went north and after this service, we will go south.
- Repentance is when a person who made a mistake and realizes what he has done and then seeks forgiveness for his actions.
- Repentance is when a person takes a stand and resolve that he would never do it again.
- Repentance affects our entire being and in the context of the Bible, affects our eternal life.

So, regret will never give us solution but would bring us dissolution, while repentance transforms our lives and gives us entrance to a new life.

God’s mercy and grace

Judges 10:10 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

11 The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites[c] oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” 16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

The Israelites regretted what they had done and prayed to God. The latter part of verse 16 described what God felt, And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer – God could Not bear the misery of the people – Then and Now.

Easter is a season to remember that God saw our misery against the evil one. He saw that we cannot attain our freedom on our own and that’s why He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to bear our sins on the cross so that whoever believe in Him and confess that He is our Lord and Savior will have an everlasting life with Him.

Instead of repenting, the Israelites regretted what they have done. However, because of God’s mercy and grace, He provided the Israelites a Judge and for us, a deliverer – Jesus, who released us from our captivity.

Judges 11:1-3, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.”

Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. The mother of Jesus was accused of being unfaithful to her fiancé when she got pregnant before marriage.
Jepthah was driven away from his family, Jesus left heaven and came to earth.
Jephthah surrounded himself with scoundrels, Jesus disciples were considered uneducated.
God sent a judge, Jephthah to save the Israelites; God sent His one and only Son to save the world.
The world says you are not worthy; the Word of God says you are worthy through Jesus Christ.
The world says regret but the Word of God says repent.
The world says you’re not a child of God; the Bible says, we become children of God.

The Bible says that the devil use and abuse people on this earth and afterwards, the people who do not repent and receive Jesus Christ in their hearts, would experience the eternal punishment. Similar to the fable where the ass said, “who even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him.”

The Israelites regretted for their ongoing prostitutions to other gods or idols but did not repent. They were sorrowful for their past actions but did not make a complete change in their faith and trust in God.

Christ suffered and died on the cross and later rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Those who put their faith in Him and make Him their Lord and Savior would live forever with Him.

Holy Friday is a reminder of the saving grace, the crucifixion, burial and on Easter Sunday – the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He left heaven and came to earth to save all of us from the eternal punishment. He is now offering you the eternal life.

Romans 3:22-24, This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

You can choose to regret or to repent. Do not fall into negative and destructive effects of regret but choose the victorious life through repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you regretted in the past, now is the time to repent to receive liberty and receive the free gift that God has for you. I invite to come and receive the liberty and a victorious life in Christ.

Contact me by Responding or Commenting to this Blog to find out more about the Saving Grace that God is extending to humanity.

God bless,

Merlin