A Date with God
A Supernatural Visit from the Lord
by
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CHAPTER TWO
~~~The Invitation~~~
So what does an invitation for a Date with God look like or feel like?
What should I expect, since the Lord does not send evites or text messages?
Nor does He have a personal page on Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat or Twitter and I do not think we will find His invitation in the mail. But who knows; He did say nothing is impossible for Him, so I am not ruling anything out.
So the best way for me to describe “The Invitation” is to share with you how He approached me. Because an invitation from the Lord is so supernatural, it is hard for me to explain, but I will try.
Have you ever found yourself at a place in your life when it seems everything is going wrong, or maybe everything is going right, but for some strange reason, you still feel like something is missing?
Most of the time, we are not sure what it is; yet we know it is something significant. Many times we try to ignore it, or we wear a mask as if everything is okay, but deep down inside we know something is not right.
It took me a while to realize what I was experiencing was actually an invitation from God and His love was pursuing me. He was tugging at my heart when life felt empty or friends had forsaken me, and when nothing seems to satisfy. To be honest, most of the time, when God extended His invitation to me, I could not describe what was going on in my life.
For some reason, I would feel His loving presence during the most chaotic times and usually it is when I am in a place God never intended for me to be. But His timing is always perfect; because He knows when our hearts are open and our ears are eager to hear a Word from the Lord. He loves us and He knows when we have reached the end of our ropes and it is usually during those times, we will be willing to listen.
I believe all of us, at some point in our lives have experienced that emptiness, yet had no clue why we were feeling that way and little did we know, we were experiencing an invitation from God.
Countless times I have ran from His invitation not realizing, He is the only One who can give me what I need the most; and that is love and the peace of God. This is what an invitation from God felt like to me.
So basically, an invitation from the Lord is His loving way of trying to draw us to a place where we can rest in Him and cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for us. God is the lover of our soul and He longs to be a part of our lives. He wants to love us and lavish us with everything we need and our hearts could ever desire.
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said these words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." This is an invitation of love because God wants to have a deeper relationship with us. It is the one relationship most of us have been missing all of our lives.
It is an invitation to spend time with the Lord and hear God’s voice in a new and special way and to trust Him without limitations. It is an invitation to release all of your hurts, fears, guilt, shame, and rejection and to finally be loved and learn how to love like never before.
How do we allow God to love us and how do we Love him in return?
To do this you must become centered in His love. This means we daily position ourselves to spend time in prayer, reading His word and meditation. Then, after we know the truth, we make it your aim to do those things that pleases Him. By doing these things, we build our relationship with God and experience the love of God, that leads us to the peace of God.
Am I saying I am walking in perfection?
No! But we must learn to walk daily with a consciousness God loves us, but He also wants to be loved by us; because He alone knows the plans He has for our lives.
During our daily walk with Him, we may make mistakes, but we learn from them and not allow them to become crutches, but stepping-stones that bring us closer to our destiny and back into right alignment with our Creator.
You see every time I have strayed away from my relationship with the Lord, I was no longer able to enjoy the peace of God. It usually happens when I am on a crash course to do what Alena wants to do, rather than what God wants Alena to do.
It is during those times, I began to feel depleted, but its also during those times the Lord always shows up with an invitation and in the most loving way, He knocks at the door of my heart, asking me to spend more time with Him.
The Bible tells us Love, Joy, and Peace are all fruits of the Holy Spirit. These all belong to God and you can only receive them from Him! Your money cannot buy you love, joy or peace, neither will your occupation, or your title, no matter how high your earthly position may be.
You may drive a Bentley, live in a mansion, dress in the finest clothes, or have the finest shape in town but as long as your relationship is disconnected from God; we simply cannot enjoy the fruits of His Spirit these belong to God because they are exclusively His and can never be found in material things.
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About the Book
Do you ever find yourself wishing for your knight in shining armor to come along and rescue you in love, riding off into the sunset together, towards your happily, ever after? Unfortunately, too many of us have gone from one broken relationship after another, that it seems sometimes our Prince Charming is just a fairy tale. But what if dreams come true after all—if we only believe!
In A Date with God, author Alena Kelley Harris shares her true testimony of how God pursued her year after year, to prove His love for her. Although she was trying to give her love to people who didn’t deserve it—nor were they part of the destiny God had chosen for her life—God wanted Alena to know that He is her knight in shining armor, her Prince Charming who has come to rescue her, to heal her broken heart and restore their relationship.
While it may seem like a fairy tale, God can give us our happily ever after. Just as He did this for Alena, He wants to do it for you too.
So, join Alena on her Date with God, and be inspired and captivated by this true love story for God’s people.
About the Author
Alena Kelley Harris is a native Memphian who now resides in Los Angeles, CA as a wardrobe consultant and evangelist. She is the dedicated wife of Tony Harris, former McDonald All-American Basketball player and current trainer. They have two sons, Ayden and Tony, Jr. and one daughter, Toni Desiree. Alena and Tony are labors together with Christ at Oasis West Church of Los Angeles where Tony is the senior pastor. The Lord told Alena He was sending her to Los Angeles and that actors and actresses are going to need her and that they are waiting for her. The Lord also told her husband Tony He will use him to minister to those in sports, the entertainment industry and everyday people, and the two ministries will be brought together to save souls in Hollywood.
Alena was raised by her mother, Sonia Adams Cleaves who is a minister and her late grandmother, Dinkie Lou Adams who was a powerful Evangelist for Christ. Alena is a graduate of the University of Memphis and was told by the Lord she would build a house of fashion for Him. It was then Alena realized fashion is her ministry, and she uses this avenue to reach men and women by clothing them naturally and spiritually.