Expanding of the Kingdom of God

Do your part to expand the Kingdom!

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I would be honored to pray for you because I believe with all my heart that PRAYER WORKS!  Please inbox me or email me or follow me on Facebook and I will be more than happy to pray for you!

 

asafeharborisjesus@gmail.com

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Our God of Comfort!

Maybe this something you just need to hear at this moment in your life, I hope and pray it encourages you. Consider an area of trial in your own life, whether it is physical illness, emotional pain, family strife, etc., and thank the Lord for allowing you to go through it. When we are dealing with any pain, suffering or grief, we need to rely on the love of God to sustain us. Only the Father’s love could reach the deepest part of us that is hurting. We will feel His gentle arms carry us and cradle us in our time of grief.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

During this difficult time in our lives, we receive a deeper understanding of God as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles.

When we need comfort the most, He is faithful to be there. we will realize this through all our pain and disappointment, God just wants to be with us and to weep with us as His heart is breaking with our heart.

There are seasons of devastation that we all go through where we are in desperate need of a God’s love and comfort. Let your Heavenly Father carry you through these seasons in your life. You were never meant to shoulder these burdens on your own. God wants to comfort you with His tender love, so that you might be able to pass on the comfort that you have received to others when they need the His love.

Unanswered Prayers!

Our all-powerful, all-loving God encourages us to ask Him for what we want. But sometimes, after we’ve put it out there, He seems to turn and walk in the opposite direction. We are left with questions: Why did He want us to pray if He was just going to say no, anyway? Were we praying “wrong” in the first place? What are we supposed to do now?

I have repeated this cycle multiple times. More than six years ago, I began experimenting heavily in drugs and became addicted. This resulted in losing everything that meant anything to me, my home, my children, my career, my car, my family and friends, you name it. It also resulted in my salvation and my freedom. I have always believed in God and Jesus, but never had I truly had a relationship with God nor had I ever read the Bible. For the last six 1/2 years, I asked God for restoration and to replenish my loss. He has done this but slowly but therefore during this time I have grown and grown even more with each passing day.

I must confess that during this last six years, I have confessed and repented of every sin I can think of, wept, protested and spent more than a few days crippled by despair.

WE TEND TO HAVE ONE OF TWO RESPONSES WHEN WHAT WE ASKED FOR IS NOT GIVEN IN A TIMELY FASHION: TRYING HARDER OR ANGRY BLAMING.

Apparently, I am not the only one who struggled because of unanswered prayer. I invited friends to fill in the blank on my Facebook wall: “Unanswered prayer … ” I received more than 40 responses, including the following: is deeply disappointing, makes me feel unloved, feels like a betrayal, is confusing, can be overwhelming, is business as usual.

Some of our bewilderment emerges because we actually believe that God is all powerful and that He not only wants us to come to Him like little children, but also encourages us to ask Him for everything, from babies to spouses to jobs to housing to help losing weight. Hence the disconnect when He doesn’t always give us what we want.

This paradox reminds me of my daughter’s attitude at Christmas. She starts composing her gift list in September, and for the next four months, she revised, added to and shamelessly shared it. Yet when Christmas day rolls around, she was filled with dread—because experience has shown her that though I am a good parent, I don’t always give her precisely what she requests. She has told me, “Why bother asking me if you aren’t going to buy me exactly what I want?” She’s a good kid, but just a typical teenager… wants everything now!

Isn’t this how we feel about our heavenly Father? We tend to have one of two responses when what we asked for is not given in a timely fashion: trying harder or angry blaming.

None of us can make ourselves worthy—that only comes as a gift from Jesus. Angry blaming similarly leads us into a dead-end.  Remember God’s promises for His Word never returns void.

Faithful is our God!

God is faithful; do not allow yourself ever to forget that important point. The question is not whether God will be faithful, the question is whether you will hold fast and not waiver during the storms of life. God does not change; HE is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is because of God’s faithfulness that you have the strength to not deny the faith. The next time a storm arises in your life, it is your duty to look to Jesus and remember HIS faithfulness. Then you can have the strength to keep the faith. 

 “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his who promise.” ~~Hebrews 10:23, NIV

At some point in life we all face hardships. It may be something physically or emotionally challenging. Or it may be a dream or an opportunity that we missed out on. Whatever your difficulty is, don’t let it discourage you from believing in God’s best. The enemy wants to keep you focused on everything negative that’s happened, but don’t let him steal the dreams God has given you. He knows that if he can deceive you into thinking things won’t get better, you’ll lose hope and give up.

There will always be obstacles trying to keep you from becoming all God’s created you to be, but God has given you a promise for good and not harm. He has plans for better things ahead. It’s important to believe God and keep an attitude of faith despite your circumstances.

Choose today to hold on to God’s promises no matter what your situation looks like. Refuse to give up on the plans He has made for your life. God knows what challenges you’ve faced, and He has a way to turn things around for your good. Start thanking and praising Him for what He’s already done and what He will do.

 

Faith is built upon trust!

The beginning point of faith, is believing in God’s character. He is who He says. The end point is believing in God’s promises. He will do what He says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even those we don’t see those materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith. In order to experience the power of God, we have to be willing to step out in faith, even when it seems there is no way and no solution to the problem at hand and our strength is gone. God will strengthen us as we go. He is the Way Maker and the only thing that really matters is the fact that God sends us. 

“Faith is the confidence  that what we hope for will actually happen., it gives us assurance  about things we can not see.”~  Hebrews 11:1

 

A powerful life is fueled by the kind of faith that steps out in obedience and lets God worry about whether or not we come back. At the center of every challenge is an opportunity for trust in God to work.  Every problem contains a concentrated opportunity and offers the option of stepping out in faith. 

 

Faith is built upon trust. God wants us to trust Him – even when we do not understand what is happening or can explain the circumstances. Even when nothing makes sense and everything seems wrong. It is easy to trust Him when the seas are calm and the skies are clear but the strength of our faith is measured in the midst of a raging storm. A crisis always reveals what is really inside. What life does to us depends on what life finds in us. Faith is a deliberate choice to believe God, to walk through our fear, knowing we can trust Him every step of the way.

 

Expanding of the Kingdom of God

Do your part to expand the Kingdom of God and share this with everyone!

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

First, let me ask you this question.  Do you currently consider yourself and see yourself as a citizen of the celestial city, the Kingdom of God , now or in the future? I pray you answered, “now” because it is now that we are saved that we are members of heaven! It is also “now” that we begin working to expand the Kingdom of God!

 

These days in the churches we have lost ourselves in denominations and lost the fact that we are all Christians!  We are all a child of God! We are all here to glorify Him!  Many have joined the church but never have become saved or become members of heaven.  I love my church but I love the Kingdom of God more!  No denomination is more important than another when it all comes down to it… we are all members…

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.

Today tomorrow and forever

A Safe Harbor is Jesus

We must keep our eyes on Christ, our ultimate leader. Christ has been and will be the same forever, in a changing world we can trust our unchanging Lord. I know God is God, and He always will be God.’ We often try to dis-engage ourselves from the spiritual way of thinking – seriously! We tend to think the way man thinks; after all, we are still in the flesh. The Spirit within us keeps prodding our minds, wanting us to relinquish our whole being to the Lord. But, we keep overriding the Holy Spirit and go on our merry way. And, we get in trouble!

 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.”~~Hebrews 13:8


The enemy would have us think that we don’t need God, that we can do anything on our own. And, some believe his lies. We have to guard against the enemies words…

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God has a plan for your life!

It’s very easy when thinking about God’s plan for our lives to have the attitude: “it’s all about me.”  Yes, it’s true that God cares about every intricate detail in our lives.  In fact, Jesus said that even the hairs on our heads are numbered.  We can also mistakenly think that God’s plan is always going to be a “feel good” plan with the intent to make us happy.

 

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Jeremiah’s message in these verses is actually radically different. He’s writing to a group of people who are being held captive, and are in exile from their homeland.  He’s writing to let them know that although they’re not where they would have expected, nor where they would have asked God to place them, God has not forgotten them and He still has a plan for their lives. 

Even in the midst of a difficult situation, God wants them to know His plans. In the preceding verses we see that a big part of God’s plan is for them to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:7).  In other words, God wants them to know that His plans are not just to benefit them personally. God’s also telling them that He’s not removing them from the situation immediately. He does promise to eventually restore them, but it’s not coming quickly (70 years out when many of them will be dead).  God’s letting them know they can move forward, because in the eternal picture, God’s justice will prevail and everything will even out.

Today, in the midst of difficult situations, God wants us to know He has a plan. He also wants us to know that as we submit to His plan that He desires to use us to bless the world around us. The key still remains during both good and difficult times: You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

Can I Trust God?

The Psalmist says “Lord, you are all powerful and completely trustworthy.” Having a hard time trusting God? Take a look at history. Everything your heavenly Father has ever promised has come to pass, just as he said it would. Even during those times when you didn’t understand His working and the things He has allowed to come into your life, His actions have been for your good to grow you and protect you and bring you closer to Him.

“Lord God All-Powerful, who is like you? Lord, you are powerful and completely trustworthy.” Psalm 89:8

Ask yourself this hard question. “Is He worth the risk?” One time in Jesus life many of his followers became disillusioned and left Him. Jesus turned to his disciples and said “Are you going to leave too?” To that question Peter said “Lord, where else is there to go? Who else gives us the things you have given us?” When we look at God’s working in the past; when we honestly evaluate his present work in our lives; I believe there is only one answer. Trusting God is worth the risk. He’s proven himself time and again and even during those times I don’t understand His actions, I have to admit there is no one else I can turn to. One last thing. Turn the tables for a moment. Imagine God asking the ‘trust questions’ about you. Have you been consistent in your history or do you constantly fail? Have you made promises you couldn’t keep or had no intention of keeping? Do your actions match your words? If you were God would you be ‘worth the risk?’ Jesus says, “Yes. You are worth the risk. You failed. You are failing. You will fail in the future. But you are worth the risk of my love.” And he proved his love for you by dying on the cross to forgive your sins.