All posts tagged: Dominion of God

Co-create with God

September 24, 2014 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, blog

Last week, I shared with you a few amazing stories that I have witnessed in the past several weeks. It is fascinating to see when you become more aware of the supernatural, the greater reality that is beyond our physical senses. You and I are a part of the divine plan. But most of the time, we are not connected in the spiritual dimension. Generally, we are disconnected and thereby miss some pretty astounding events that can directly affect our worldview of reality and can change the course of lives of others and the history of a community.

If the greater reality is beyond our natural senses, how can we tune in with what’s going on in the spiritual realm? The answer is to train ourselves to be more conscious about the correlation between the natural and the supernatural, the physical and the spiritual. How do we do this?

We will start with a simple step and example based on a phenomenal story that just happened yesterday. I wrote from my previous Blog that another opportunity had landed on my lap. My organization has the opportunity to acquire a property worth more than half a million dollars with no cash involved on our part. As a Consultant, I come across some pretty interesting situations, this is one of them.

God has bigger plan

A Pastor and his wife came to my office several weeks ago asking to help them decide about the future of their church. The church building sits on a 7-acre land. It has 2 houses, a youth building that is not being used currently, a playground, a community center, a detached garage and a large pond. Back in the 80’s, the church had more 400 attendees. Throughout the years, and with many reasons, the church continuously dwindled down in number. Currently, it has less than 20 attendees. Needless to say, they cannot continue to pay the bills including the mortgage.

Simultaneously, I am helping a Hispanic church to find a site for their food pantry. I just trained them to start their own pantry and this is the last piece to get them started. I introduced them to the Pastor that I am consulting with. They visited the place and fell in love with it. The Hispanic Pastor gathered her leaders and we had a meeting. They asked for my advice and guided them in the decision-making process. They decided to rent a portion of the church!

Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of 2 churches who needed my advice. This put me in an awkward position so after prayers and several conversations with my wife and friends, I decided not to have an interest in the property.

We had a few meetings with the Pastor who owns the church, we prayed together and discussed the best option for them. We looked at the sources of their income and the list of expenses. They agreed to follow the plans and strategy that I presented to them. I showed them that they can actually keep the property even with just one renter. Yesterday (Sept. 23, 2014), I also negotiated with their mortgage company to skip the Principal payment for 12 months until they get back on the black. In addition, I also negotiated to spread out the payment for the last 2 unpaid monthly mortgage bills.

Through prayers (spiritual) and through meetings and evaluations (physical), we have solved the potential loss of a beautiful property. Both churches will be working to maximize their impact in the community and to utilize the property in greater way. This is an example of becoming more aware of our spiritual surrounding. It is through our communion with the Lord that we can hear more of His voice. We will develop our spiritual senses as we tune in with the greater reality.

There are more to the story but I would like for you to share yours. Do not think that your story is not worth sharing. God does not look from man’s perspective. Remember when Jesus fed the 5,000 through the little boy who had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish? His disciples did not think that the food they will eat later would come from a child with only a handful of food! God is not bound by our reality, He is beyond time and space, He is infinite, He is the God of all creation.

This is the opportunity that lie in front of us – we can co-labor and co-create with God. Be aware of your spiritual space, tune in to the supernatural and see more of heaven here on earth. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

God bless,

Merlin

Remember the Fire?

September 18, 2014 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM, Testimony

Remember when you first commit your life to Jesus Christ?

Remember when you first experience God?

Two months ago, I posted about a house fire that happened to a Pastor who is friend of mine. Many people have helped him in terms of some donated money, furniture & appliances and most of all, prayers. I have been helping him in finding out the best solution for the future of the house that was burned. I have a sense that this tragedy will end up to be a blessing for him and his family. I kept encouraging him and praying for him in the past several weeks.

Last Monday, we heard news about the house and we did more negotiations. We were confirmed that there’s nothing else we can do, so we settled for what was agreed upon. Tonight, I received a message to call the main person regarding the house. We received great news; something that we did not expect!

In these past several months, God has been showing me things that are beyond my imagination. The unexpected things such as the pallet shelving, the launching of one-of a kind food pantry, the $70k walk-in freezer donation and many more.

There is another huge thing that has fall on my lap just 2 weeks ago. I ask that you pray for wisdom and discernment on my part. This one could impact thousands of people and may be an integral part in this particular community for years to come.

God is awesome! I would like to invite you come alongside with me in experiencing the goodness of God. Some people are experimenting with God to see what happens when you trust Him. I would like to invite you to journey with me in fully trusting God in every aspect of our lives.

There’s a difference between making Jesus as our Savior and making Him as our Lord. Our lives reflect who our Lord is – the way we conduct ourselves, react on situations, make decisions and our habits. Our reality is mostly based on our experience. I think many of us have knowledge of God but do not have much of experiencing life with Him – that’s why sometimes we find out selves asking ” where is God in this situation?” Unless we experience Him intimately, His reality in our lives would be fragmented.

Remember when you first experience God and felt that He is involved in your life? If you are like me, I was on fire! It seem like God is so close to me… not only during Sunday but every day of the week! What if we fully trust that every aspect of our lives is connected with our relationship with God…our finances, our relationships, our health and our spiritual life? This may be a silly question: “What if all of our life experience is directly interconnected with our relationship with God?” How would we cope with our failures and celebrate our success, treat our families, work with our associates and deal with our neighbors? If God is ever present in our consciousness, what would our lifestyle be, how would we react with every situation – good or bad, and what would be our perspective in life.

Here’s what I have in mind. I will share with you my experience with Him. Similar with what I have been writing before, I will continue sharing with you what God has been doing in the ministry of FHL. This time, I will be more intimate and share more of my personal experience with Him such as frustrations, praises and prayers, requests and dreams, questions and answers and, my experience. I would like to encourage you to share your stories as well, make comments, prayers and praises. Let’s experience God and share our stories to encourage and to uplift one another.

I hope you would consider joining me in learning more about ourselves and our relationship with the God that we profess – our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. What’s your story and what has God been doing in your life? Remember your passion for Christ when you were a new Christian? Remember the fire in your heart?

Lessons on tendering a garden

July 9, 2014 Merlin Gonzales blog, KIOM

A small 16ft by 4ft plot can yield many kinds of vegetables

During early spring of 2014, I turned a part of my lawn into vegetable plot. I have written how I started my vegetable garden and documented some of my experiences.

Since then, I took care of my garden almost every morning before going to work and almost every evening as soon as I get home. I weed it, water it, prune it, fertilize it and aerate it. It has become my habit and started to enjoy the process. I would look at the flowers and observe the growth of the cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, etc.

My appreciation grew deeper in the uniqueness of every plant and specie, their character and design, and the different fragrance that they emit in the atmosphere.

One morning, I was looking at a plant. I was admiring how the shoots are so long and then, a thought came to me. I enjoyed looking at it although there are no flowers on it. “Of course“, I said to myself, it is not their nature to bear flowers. They have uniqueness in themselves and they are beautiful in their own way. That’s the way the Creator created them. I cannot expect flowers from them because they are not suppose to have flowers.

I know that my argument with myself seems crazy but if we apply this same observation with our families, friends, volunteers, employees, etc. they make a lot of sense. How many times have we catch ourselves expecting others to become just like another person? How can we expect a donkey to run like a thoroughbred and a chihuahua to grow bigger than what they’re suppose to be? Then why do we expect John to be like Paul?

If we can learn how to appreciate the uniqueness of each individual, we can avoid the stress of trying to change other people. What if we slow down and observe others and learn about them for the first time again?

God had created us to be different from each other and to realize that our differences complement one another. As the famous saying goes, “slow down and smell the roses” is very true – to see the importance and the value in each of us. This is also a reminder for ourselves to learn more about ourselves, to appreciate who we are and to celebrate how God had created us.

– Merlin

Significance of spoken and written words

July 3, 2014 Merlin Gonzales blog

Governor of Indiana proclaimed the July 20-26, 2014 is Faith Hope and Love Week in the entire state

In 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 & Ezra 1:1-3, King Cyrus of Persia issued a Proclamation throughout his realm that the exiles from Israel be given safe passage back to their land so they can build the Temple of the Lord. The people of the land are to provide supplies, materials and food for the Israelites as well. Because of this proclamation, God’s people were able to start building the temple in Jerusalem.

The families were reunited after the 70 years of exile in Babylon and the neighbors provided everything they needed including goods and livestock. The families settled in their own towns. After seven months, they came back together again as one people to offer burnt and freewill offerings. This was the start of the process of rebuilding the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. God had used King Cyrus of Persia through issuing a proclamation that became like a law of the land.

God created the universe with His word. When He spoke the word, it never returned void. In the Old Testament, He used the prophets to speak His words. It was the prophet Jeremiah who prophesy that the exiles will return after 70 years of captivity. The prophet Isaiah prophesy of the coming of the Messiah. Jesus Christ proclaimed that those who believe in Him with all of his mind, might and being will become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. It was Jesus who spoke that the the believers will be filled with the Holy Spirit – the very same Spirit who filled Him while He was here on earth. Jesus said that the believers can do the things that He had done through the Holy Spirit living in them.

I believe that God speaks to His people. In 2005, I sensed the Lord spoke to me to ask for the Mayors of Central Indiana to issue a Proclamation for Faith, Hope and Love Day (soon it became Faith Hope and Love Week). After a few years, the Governor of Indiana proclaimed the same every year. And every year, countless people in Indiana celebrate the week through serving others. This year, all services and projects are focused on addressing hunger.

There is significance in our spoken and written words. For us Christians, it is even more powerful because as we speak words that are in alignment with the will of God, it will happen because we have the same Spirit who dwell in Jesus Christ while He was here on earth. What is the will of God – faith, hope and love. All of these three remain.

Be careful what you say and be watchful what you write. God had given us delegated authority including the power to create through our words.

Be aware, be prepared

February 23, 2014 Merlin Gonzales blog, KIOM

We are living in critical hours and our neighborhoods are in turmoil. Mark 13:7-8, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” (NIV) Here are some examples of recent events relating to the verses above.

The most recent famine was in North Korea when the government implemented the “Military First” policy, which placed the needs of the military above common people. Then heavy flooding occurred in the country and within the 4-year period (1994-1998), about 3 million people died. (http://listverse.com/)
The year 2011 had the most disasters in recorded history. (Ex. from Global Post):
- The massive 8.9 earthquake was one of the strongest ever recorded in history but the tsunami and the nuclear meltdown that followed had the most lasting damage.
- The drought in East Africa resulted in more than 30,000 children died
- The flood in Thailand that started to rise in July and continued through December killed about 800 people.
A massive tornado in Oklahoma in May, 2013 packed with 200 miles/hr wind and 12 miles path killed 24 people.
The strongest recorded typhoon, Haiyan in central Philippines in November, 2013 packed 235 miles per hour wind killing nearly 6,000 and displaced 3.5 million people. (World Vision, worst natural disasters of 2013)
In the past several weeks in the oil-rich nation of Venezuela, the people are rallying to resolve problems ranging from the rising crime to the unprecedented 56% unemployment. (NYDailyNews.com)
After several protest against the government of Ukraine, almost 100 people had died already. They are now trying to control the crowd from vandalism, banditry and a coup d’etat. (BBC News)

“I can’t believe this would happen in my neighborhood”

On the night of Feb. 20^th and early Feb 21^st this year (2014) eight people were murdered in metro Indy. Many of our neighborhoods are under attack from the kingdom of this world. Some of our neighborhoods are in disaster, in crisis, even emergencies. We do not need to go somewhere else because our own backyards need us.

Which kingdom do you belong?

In the midst of all of these, we need to be reminded which kingdom we belong. We are from the kingdom that is unshakable. Hebrews 12:26-27, “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.”

Isaiah 2:2, “In the last days,

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.”

The government of heaven will rule over all the earth. Christians are commissioned to expand heaven on earth. God has given us delegated authority to influence the world with kingdom principles. In these critical hours, our neighborhoods are waiting and watching for the Bible to become alive in the lives of the Christians.

Feeding the hungry is not enough

According to Feeding America, 1 in 6 Americans struggle with hunger. Many charitable organizations, churches and ministries are mobilizing people and resources to feed the hungry.

In John 6, many supernatural events were told. Thousands of people followed Jesus because they see miraculous signs He had performed. Then, they witnessed something that they have never seen before! Jesus and His disciples fed 5000 men and the rest of the crowd by multiplying 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish that came from a little boy – through the hands of the disciples! They were rejoicing about the miracles and they were fed. Later, the disciples went in a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. That night, Jesus walked on water.

The crowd followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As soon as they found Jesus, they asked Him how He got there since there was only one boat available the night before. Interestingly, Jesus did not answer their question but told them: “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” – John 6:26 (NIV)

Jesus revealed the real motive of people; they wanted just groceries! Then, Jesus taught them that He is the bread that came down from heaven. He told them they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Jesus was telling the people to hunger and thirst for Christ. Once we hunger and thirst for Christ, we will be satisfied physically and spiritually. We must be set apart for Him and, He is all we need. Then the thousands left Him except the twelve.

Jesus knew that the multitude did not understand His message and His teachings even though they had been following Him. They are following Him because of the groceries! This is an example that feeding people and giving groceries should not be the focus of food pantries. Jesus is saying that giving away food at food pantries is not enough and, if that becomes the focus of food pantries, we are missing the point. It’s all about Jesus.

Food pantries that are intimate and personal are focused on people rather than food. It values relationship over physical resources. The end result is: more people are being discipled, the Gospel is being shared and the community is being engaged to participate. Similar to the early Christians, we gather together in smaller groups to worship, to pray and to share our resources. People would want to get involved. – Acts 11:27-30

In the next several years, there will be more micro gatherings since people want to be personal and want to know each other. We have the most opportune time to share the Gospel with our neighborhoods. History tells that there is an increase of grace during crisis. You can also see that people in crisis are more open to hear about God and about their eternal destiny. The light is brighter where there is more darkness. We have opportunities to reach out to the community in these critical times through simple food pantries. We can raise up more disciples by inviting our congregations and our clients to be a part of solutions. And, as we become more aware of heaven here on earth, we can be prepared before the next shaking happens in our neighborhoods.

God bless you!

Merlin Gonzales