All posts tagged: youth

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?

The world’s norm vs. the Kingdom’s way

June 19, 2014 Merlin Gonzales KIOM

God’s way is different than the world’s

There are times when we feel we have to modify God’s plan because things do not make sense. For example, for many years, you have been praying for finances and material things to come to you. You have been struggling to pay your bills month after month for years. Your credit cards balances are at the maximum limit, you have withdrew most of your retirement funds and just getting by.

Then you started to work long hours thinking that you can increase your income and find more resources to get you out of the hole. Money started to come. However, the more you feel you are getting ahead, your bank balance is getting worse. Things don’t make sense so you worked even longer hours.

In 2 Chronicles 13:1-22, Judah’s King Abijah was outnumbered by his opponent, King Jeroboam of Israel. Abijah had only 400,000 soldiers while Jeroboam had 800,000! It is had to imagine witnessing that many people in one place killing each other and this happened around 3,000 years ago. Abijah knew that he has no chance to defeat Jeroboam, but his faith strengthened him. In verse 10 he said, “But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him.”

Meanwhile Jeroboam devised a plan to surround Abijah and his people in the front and the rear. So Abijah cried out to the Lord! They blew their trumpets and shouted the battle cry. God defeated Jeroboam. In verse 17 & 18, “Abijah and his army inflicted heavy losses on them; 500,000 of Israel’s select troops were killed that day. So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in theLord, the God of their ancestors.”

Be encouraged as you face impossible situations (as we know it). Do as Abijah did, cry out to the Lord and shout the battle cry. God is always watching out for His people. He fights for us because we are His children. Don’t forget that you are a child of the King.

“Preacher, I’m a drug dealer!”

May 28, 2014 Merlin Gonzales blog

What would you do if a drug dealer wearing dark sunglasses suddenly walked in the middle of sanctuary during the middle of your sermon at a church located in one of the most dangerous cities in the US? The suspicious man sat in the front row with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

I woke up early on Sunday, May 25th, 2014 to prepare my message at Tree of Life Ministries just north of downtown Indianapolis. I have been thinking about the message in the past several days but could not get myself to write it. I knew I will be speaking about the occasion – Memorial Day. While researching and writing my message, I suddenly felt my heart beat fast, I hyper ventilated and I felt that I was being attacked by the enemy. I prayed and continued writing my message while I breath hard to suck more air in my lungs.

My parents came with me to the church and we arrived just on time. The church rents a space at a store front located at a busy intersection. I heard just several months ago, there were shootings at the intersection. This is an area that is considered 17th most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. This small church has only 3 rooms – the sanctuary, the back room with 2 restrooms and a pantry. They were just finishing their Sunday Bible Study when we arrived.

At the Bible study, they were talking about marriage and somehow they started talking about addiction. When I heard the word “addiction”, I thought I should mention something about it when I preach. After the Bible Study, we had a brief intermission, then I saw my daughter pulling up at the curb and my instinct told me I should help her to park. As soon as I got outside, my daughter immediately said that she does not feel safe because the people on the street were staring at her suspiciously and she is afraid to park her car on the street. I assured her that nothing bad will happen.

The style of the church worship team is southern blues. I really like the freedom to worship with them. After a few minutes of worship, I felt shaky and weak. I was trying to figure out if it was because of low blood sugar or I was just nervous. I went to the back room and helped myself with a doughnut and coffee to regain my strength. Then, I prayed for strength and for clarity of mind.

I still felt a little weak as I approach the podium. However, I forgot about my physical weakness when I started to talk. “Even just for one” was the title of my message. There were about 20 adults including my parents, my daughter and me. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit as I was getting into my message. Suddenly, a man wearing rugged clothes with dark sun glasses walked in the middle of the sanctuary and sat in the front row. I was talking about the Parable of the lost sheep. Jesus left the 99 to find the lost one – the backslider.

“I’m a drug dealer”

All of a sudden, the person who walked in late, raise his hand. After acknowledging him, he said, “I am a drug dealer, I need help.” It took me a couple of seconds to compose myself. I told him that God can heal him. He took his sunglasses and his eyes told me that he was serious. I asked the pastor of the church if we can take a few minutes to pray for him. After prayer, I encouraged him with positive words and affirmation. A couple of people were wiping their tears as they were praying.

He received a mighty move of God in his life

Before I ended my message, I prayed for the leaders of the church for wisdom, protection and provision. As soon as I got to my seat, a well-built man came to me, shook my hands and gave me a big hug. Then, the pastor came and did an altar call. The same person who shook my hands came to the front to receive Jesus as his Savior. The entire church raised up to their feet, clapped their hands and more people started to weep. I found out later that he was the son of one of the church leaders. It was a chain reaction. When he saw the boldness of the drug dealer who confessed publicly, he opened up to the grace of God. God has been pursuing him and He used the drug dealer to communicate His unconditional love.

As they were praying for this gentleman, the pastor’s wife began to praise God with her voice and her entire body. She was being filled by the Holy Spirit. I gave the man a big hug and encouraged him by telling him that he will be used by God mightily by leading an army of God.

I was awe struck by the entire service. In my years of preaching at different churches, I had never experienced someone interrupting my sermon by saying he is a drug dealer. Through him, the “one” who was lost was found. This happened in a small church located in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the US. The small church had no fancy sanctuary but they have authentic congregation, the church sits in a rough neighborhood but they have peace inside their building and in their hearts, the church is definitely not the building, but the people who cares for everyone. It is a church that welcomes everyone, prostitutes, drunkards, addicts and the poor in spirit, similar to the crowd that Jesus hanged out with. It is a church that is willing to interrupt the service, let go of their plan for the service and let the Holy Spirit take over the schedule for the day. They are small in number but they have big hearts for the lost. More is not always better and the central point is not always bigger.

Later, I realized why I couldn’t get myself to sit down and to write the message, why I hyper ventilated while writing the message and why I felt weak during the worship. God was about to do something very special for 2 people and the entire congregation that Sunday morning. The person who walked in late and interrupted the service by saying, “Preacher, I am a drug dealer!” was used by God “Even for just one” lost sheep.

Praise you, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, my Lord and my Savior.

The blessings of serving

March 17, 2014 Merlin Gonzales FHL Food Pantry, FHL Indiana, Mobile Food Pantry, Prayer Groups

There are days when something amazing happens when you least expected. Here are a few examples that happened in 10 days.

Warehouse for re-distribution

On March 6th, I decided to move the re-distribution of food from the FHL parking lot to a warehouse that is being rented by one of our partnering food pantry Pastors. We normally divide the food that we receive from Midwest Food Bank to 5 food pantries. Because of the numerous logistics, I have to admit that I was anxious. However, many of my anxious thoughts were wrong! The training went very well at our partner’s building while we were waiting for the arrival of the 24-footer box truck containing the food. Our partner’s warehouse has at least 6 docks, a lift truck and a hand truck. The Lord worked it out that we were able to unload 9 pallets in just a few minutes. Within an hour, the food were redistributed to 5 food pantries. It normally takes us to do all this in 3-4 hours!

Forklift for unloading and loading trucks

In addition, our partner is considering allowing us use some space for storage! This may seem insignificant but the warehouse space with loading docks, lift truck, hand truck and more centralize location is huge for FHL at this time! I’ll share more on this soon.

On March 12th, I conducted a Latino refresher course for food pantry operation at Monte de Sion Hispanic Wesleyan Church. I ended the teaching with role playing to present the Gospel during food pantry days and also anywhere they see opportunities. The participants were all excited to use their newly acquired revelation.

Experiential training

A few days later on March 15th, I visited the food pantry at that same place, Monte de Sion. As soon as I got there, many people are being served and were being prayed for. One of the couples who participated at the training on the 12th shared with me that they led 2 people to the Lord! They were so excited and I noticed that their faith was rising up as they are experiencing the blessing of sharing the Gospel.

Earlier that day, I was expecting a hectic schedule for the opening of our newest food pantry at the corner of Washington & State streets. Opening a new site takes a lot of planning and preparation. When I got to the site, the Pastor of this mobile food pantry was already. The food were placed on tables, volunteers were at their station and were already engaging in conversations with people at this street corner.

At Washington and State St., Indianapolis

This particular food distribution area is one of the depressed areas in Indy. This site had become a “stand by” place for “Labor For Hire”. They hang out at this corner waiting for people to hire them for a day! This is a strategic place to give away food, offer free coffee and sandwiches for the men waiting for work. We’ll see how the Lord would have us serve in this place in the future – maybe more than just giving groceries once a month.

At Beech Grove B&G

My last stop that day was at B&G Pantry of Hope. I was amazed to see how they have become a self-sufficient. Here’s a video of their story as told by their current food pantry director who was one of this pantry’s recipients a few years ago.

I am blessed to witness His goodness and the miracles along the way. I told a Pastor who visited one of the pantries that I receive blessings through serving. I would like to challenge you this coming weeks to count your blessings as you serve in the Name of the Lord; it will revolutionize your outlook in life.

John 12:26, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

God bless you!

Merlin

History of FHL Food Pantry

March 2, 2014 Merlin Gonzales FHL Food Pantry, FHL Mobile Food Pantry

The early years of FHL Food Pantries

In the fall of 2006, Merlin Gonzales and a few volunteers agreed to do the first FHL Mobile Food Pantry. FHL partnered with a Hispanic business that allowed us to give the food in the grocery store. One of our partners owned one of the Latino newspapers in town and she did a half-page ad at no cost to us.

The pantry attracted almost 100 families. The first pantry had less than 10 volunteers but was able to give a lot of grocery items from a food bank and other sources. For the next 2 years, FHL food pantries were held in churches, schools and parking lots. FHL did not have problems in attracting recipients because of the follow up system.

After 2 years, FHL introduced prayers at pantries. The recipients seem open and soon it became a regular part of each pantry. Through the process of partnering with different organizations at different locations, FHL developed procedures overtime. The leaders learned how to interact with different denominations, ethnic groups and traditions. The Lord walked the organization through many on-the-job training that were vital to the development creative evangelism. The leaders learned more how to interact with the different segments of our society.

However, setting up and tearing down of food pantry sites at different location became a hindrance to serve more people and to share the Gospel. The idea of starting a food pantry at churches and other sites became obvious. FHL would be able to serve more people and would be able to share its experience with others.

The informal training and partnership emerged. Horizon Christian Fellowship Central was the first food pantry that FHL helped start. It is now a vital part of the Fountain Square neighborhood in Indianapolis.

Through prayers and hard work, God had birth the FHL Food Pantry Incubation. It is now that mission of FHL to incubate food pantries in central Indiana.

The FHL Food Pantry School became a work in progress document. In the class, you will learn that practical and spiritual application of the Bible. You will see that your friends and/or congregation can be a part of the tapestry of a food pantry. Young and old, rich and poor has a place in a food pantry such as the Outreach Team, Prayer Team and Community Relations Team.

An idea of feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need had evolved to be a powerful tool to engage the community in sharing the love of God. The end result is that the hungry are fed, the Gospel is being shared and more people are becoming Christ-like in their communities. The food pantries are becoming missional communities.