Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer and Reflection for 8.14.11

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 

1 John 3:18-24

Pray
Father fill me with Your love and peace, that I might love Your children, all of Your children equally and without hesitation or judgment as You have commanded. Teach me Father how to be accepting and loving of each and every one of my fellow brothers and sisters as Jesus does. Let me see them as You do, and let me see myself as You see me. 

Father You know me better than I will ever know myself. You know my strengths and weaknesses, some I’ve acknowledged and some I’m still clueless or in denial about, but even in my imperfections I am perfect in Your sight as Your spiritual reflection. I want to be a better person Lord. I want to lead a better life where nothing and no one takes the place of You, comes before You, has more power over my life in my mind than You. I want my crooked walk to be straightened. I want my life to be filled with more peace and joy as I bring more peace and joy to others lives. 

I know that nothing and everything takes place by Your will and grace, and there is nothing that I can do to change this, to change You, or to change Your Mind- for You are the ultimate and only decision maker. Father I don’t want to disappoint You, even when I do, and even when later today I probably will- that is not in my heart Lord and You know this. Help me to discern truth from fiction, light from dark, love from fear, transparency from manipulation, real from fake, and know that no matter what I go through You will always be here and there for me. In Jesus’ name I pray to You this day and everyday. Amen.

Reflection
Every day we start anew with a hoped for understanding that we can make our own choices in life, but God is the ultimate and true decision maker. We have the choice to do right or wrong, to be loving and kind or cruel and selfish. 

But at the beginning, middle, and end of each day (and every second in between) God still makes the decisions whether we walk, talk, think, breathe, move, blink, swallow, live here on earth or pack our spiritual bags and move on to another level of existence. 

God still determines whether my bills are paid on time or whether I graduate from my PhD program on time or at all. God determines whether I will get the remaining money I need by tomorrow’s deadline, or whether I face the facts that it didn’t happen and that is just an “is” in life. God determines whether I get married and have a healthy, joy-filled, honorable, faithful and loving marriage, or whether I remain single for the rest of my days here. God determines whether I give birth to healthy children, become an adoptive parent, foster mom, or only pour my love on my Godchildren and my friends children as “auntie Tasha”. God determines whether I live to be 120 or if I leave here before my next birthday in two months. 

He knows everything. He sees and hears everything. There are no closets for us to hide our skeletons and truths from Him. 

We need to stop pretending and start getting right with God. We need to stop playing games as though we have a trump card that can overrule God, and start realizing and acknowledging that He holds every card to every deck, and knows every move we’re going to make (or think we’re going to make) before we do. 

I pray to be a little less selfish each day so that I may be more selfless in my walk, because this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Him. I love you all, and I open myself up to prove in my actions not just my words that my declaration is truthful and not just “catchy” and sweet. Enjoy your Sunday and welcome your Monday…and thank God for each day!

Love,

Natasha 

Copyright 2011. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
breakingbreadwithnatasha.wordpress.com