Breaking Bread For 1.29.21

Scripture

Watch what God does, and then do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG

Reflection

We must be God’s reflection in every aspect of our lives. God doesn’t just love one type of person, He loves all people, because He created all of us to uniquely reflect all of the sides of His Beingness. We must learn to love all people regardless of how they look, how they vote, how they pray, if they pray, whether or not they believe in God— one God or multiple gods. Just love them, just as God does. Pray that He reveals to you what He sees when he looks at them, so that you can see them the same way.

We must love all people regardless of the color of their skin, where they live, or how much money they make. We must learn to love passionately, intentionally, and deeply. We must learn to love without restrictions or expecting anything in return. Jesus loved and loves us regardless if we followed (and still follow) him or not. We must give our all like Jesus, with the hope that we can all know the Truth and be saved in him. Can you fathom that concept?

Prayer

Father I want to learn how to love like You and Jesus, and how to live the life You expect of me. Touch my heart Lord. I never want to disappoint You. I don’t want my flesh to dictate to my spirit. I want to be free in You. In Your Name I praise and pray. Amen.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.28.21

Scripture

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

2 Peter 1:3-9

Reflection

Enhance the positive and loving characteristics and attributes you possess and work to build those elements you don’t express fully, clearly, and as God would intend. The only way you will be effective and productive in any aspect of your life is to follow the lessons of Jesus and others sent by our Father. As long as you fail to have faith, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and embrace God’s love and goodness, you will remain spiritually nearsighted and blind to God’s reality for you and your life. You will continue to think that your past is your curse, and fail to see that He has forgiven you and only has desires to bless you.

You keep choosing to carry the past with you.

You keep choosing to carry around what someone did to you.

You keep choosing to carry around the past sins of your dad or your mom, or both of them.

Drop that dead weight.

God left it where it was.

You picked it up and you have been dragging it behind and beside you ever since.

You have chosen to carry a curse, be cursed, haunted by the past, so that it keeps influencing your present.

Aren’t you tired of lugging that mess around? You have to feel it all through your body. It has to be difficult to sleep at night, tossing and turning, struggling with those dreams—where God keeps trying to show you how to get out, but you keep staying in, tormented.

You keep focusing only on what you can see, in the flesh, versus being confident in what God knows. Maybe if you did not have the physical sense of vision, you could appreciate life more fully, in the same faith that one must have to trust without seeing (in the flesh). You would instead be required to trust the Spirit within that guides each step, navigates each moment, and reassures you that all is well. Must you really face that extreme to trust something that has always been with you? If so, you must face head-on this battle with the flesh, because the Spirit was not given to you to be defeated.

Prayer

Father, with You, all of my needs are met, all of my wishes and dreams are fulfilled, all of my goals are accomplished, and all of my fears are diffused. You never break a promise to me and You never lead me astray. Thank You Father. Today I want to reinforce the things I have read in Your Word and the words written by Your faithful servants. I want to reinforce the positive affirmations I have recited; and add to my faith in You and my belief in myself. I pray for self-control, perseverance, and a sense of doing, saying, and being intentional in all that I do.

Father let Your love that fills me constantly grow and reflect You, and let this love guide my feet, heart, mind, mouth, and my actions. I want to be effective, efficient, and productive in my personal life and career, as a student of Christ, with hopes of helping expand Your Kingdom. Let me see clearly near, far, and in between Father. I know that You are Jehovah Jireh, because I know that You have seen and will see to it. Just as You provided for Abraham in his sacrifice, may I sacrifice the limits of my flesh that is bound in this world, so that my spirit may walk with You, and be blessed. Through my blessings may I bless others. In Your Name I pray and praise. Amen.

Love you all!

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.27.21

Scripture

The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

Ecclesiastes 9:17

Reflection

Wisdom does not always have to be spoken aloud; and sometimes, it’s not even expressed with words. It’s also expressed through our actions. Remember, the loudest in the room could be hard of hearing or the biggest fool, but not necessarily the one to pay attention to. We have countless examples of loud-mouth fools, who stir up nothing but more foolishness; the rallying cry of fools. You’re not supposed to feed and fuel the fool. The more attention you provide, the more you argue and shout retorts, the more you fuel the enemy’s puppet. Yes, I said it, puppet. The puppet master always needs more souls to manipulate. Don’t join them.

There is great strength in the steadiness of even tone, even with temper. It creates an advantage to hear, see, and feel more than we can when we are fueled by the convulsive energy that blocks perfect understanding. I have to keep reminding myself of this because I let my flesh take over and tell my spirit to take backseat. And every time I do, my flesh makes a fool out of me. As I tell children, “Louder doesn’t make us “righter”, it just gives everyone a headache”. So I remind all of us oversized children, God’s children, let us choose wisdom over ego, choose to be steady in God’s calm order than succumbed by the riptides of the enemy.

Prayer

Father, I ask for wisdom through Your guidance and Word; the knowledge of experience; the teachings of mentors and advisors; and from learning from others mistakes, failures and achievements—in addition to my own. I ask that You silence me when words are not necessary, and control my tone when You expect me to speak up and speak out. I want to speak and live as You want to see and hear me. Mold my words and temperament to align with You. I want people to see, hear, and feel You when they are in my presence. When I behave different than what You expect, I know that the image I am representing is not Yours, but the enemy’s, and it hurts to know this. It hurts me to hurt You. I will live my days aligning and walking with You. I thank You for walking with me. In Your Name I humbly pray and praise. Amen.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.26.2021

Scripture

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

Proverbs 16:6 NIV

Reflection

How much clearer can this be? As long as we love (are loving, and are receptive to love), and faithful to God, His plan, and His son Jesus— our sins are atoned. I’ve gotten in the habit of searching for the Hebrew translations and then finding the meaning and context of Hebrew words, both in ancient and modern times. Most people hear and say “Fear of God” and what has been associated with that is the horror that comes from fearing His judgment and our death. We only obey because we fear punishment. That is one part of seeing this. We shouldn’t want to be punished. However, we’re also missing the bigger picture. We’re also missing how the Hebrew text was written, putting emphasis on the nouns and their placement, lets you know what they meant by fear, in context such as Proverbs 16:6.

Our Father doesn’t want us to be horrified of Him, because our relationship would be constantly strained. When we heard His voice we would assume something bad was going to happen, we must have done something wrong. Panic would set in. We would scramble and try to hide, fearing punishment. We would also find ourselves constantly getting into trouble, trying not to get in trouble. Think of what children do who have a parent or guardian who is seen as the punisher,  the children don’t get into less trouble, they tend to mess up more out of fear, trauma, and confusion. Yes, God disciplines. He is our Heavenly Parent. We are supposed to be corrected when we do wrong. But God is also tender, gentle, caring, nurturing, sympathetic, has mercy and leads with grace.

To Fear the Lord, God, is to have the highest level of awe, reverence, esteem, respect, and submission to Him. To fear Him is to believe and live as though there is nothing and no one greater than He. We are to see Him as “I Am”, beginning and end, and all that is in between. That is why we are called to fear and obey Him. By respecting and obeying Him, we also have a strong desire to not disappoint Him and hurt His heart. Listening, obeying, submitting to, and supporting Him demonstrates our love, and through these things we can avoid falling to the traps of evil. Oftentimes we think we’re doing good and right, but we’re not. We don’t ask God beforehand. We pray to Him to fix it, to save us, after we have committed the act. Our support in God supports us—that is the circle of faith. We can free ourselves from the shackles of self-righteousness and be released in knowing that only God determines what is right, just, and fair. That is a beautiful reality that many of us think of embracing while not all of us do. Reflecting upon all of this, what decision will you make beginning today? How do you see God? What type of relationship would you like to have with God?

Prayer

Father I love, respect, and honor You. I hope that my daily walk demonstrates this. I hope that You feel and see it. I hope that to You, these are not just words that I’m casually speaking to gain favor. There is no me without You, life is only what You make it, and death is everything You are not. Through my love and faithfulness I pray that my sins will be atoned. I know that You have forgiven me, however, I want to be completely at-one with You. I want to walk in total alignment with You, not just as someone pardoned to run off and keep sinning. I want to be where You want me to be, stride for stride, with You. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name I praise You. Amen.

Lovingly,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.25.2021

First, let me start off by wishing my grand aunt, Mary Butler Boone, an amazing birthday. I love you aunt Mary!!!! May God continue to bless you with many more years walking with Him, here on earth, as a teacher, servant, and ambassador for Christ.

Scripture

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.
—Proverbs 16:9 NIV

Reflection

We can plan our lives as much as we want, but if we don’t realize that only God establishes the steps in that plan— we will never truly get anywhere in life. We need to be in partnership with Him, praying for His guidance, so that we’re not interfering with plans that are set for our destiny. We may have plans but God has a purpose for each of us, and when we start micromanaging and impatiently redirecting things our way, flexing our “free will” muscle, we risk missing out on a life that is far greater than anything we could ever imagine or reach on our own. I don’t know about you, but I want everything God has for me. I want to learn the lessons. I want to study the history and the people He used before me, so that I can model the walk that is most pleasing to Him, to be the best servant He needs me to be. Are you trying to determine your path or are you allowing God to do what only He can do? I don’t care what your age is, you can be 99, you are never too old for God to work through you to accomplish greatness. Just let go and walk with Him!

Prayer

Father, You always find a way to show me when my mind and Your path are not on the same track. I’m tired of trying to plan and map my life and failing along the way. I’m trying to do Your job. I want You. I want a life aligned with You. I want my path to lead me to everything and everyone that You desire and design. I want to glorify You through my daily walk. I thank You for all You have done, all You do, and all You will still do in my life. I surrender all to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Love you all,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.21.2021

Scripture

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Galatians 6:7-8

Reflection

What we think about we bring about. What we desire and seek, whether good or bad, will only bring forth good or bad seeds. What kind of tree are you? What soil are you rooted in? If you have ulterior motives that are centered on self and pleasing the flesh, you will fall into darkness. Don’t be deceived into believing that you can trick, mislead, or fool God. There is absolutely nothing that you can keep “in the closet” that God doesn’t know about. You can fool man but you’re a fool to think that you can somehow pull the wool over God’s eyes. He’s never sleeping, never off of His game plan, never on vacation. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. I only want good and pure seedlings, so it is my intent to only plant good and pure seeds, in His soil. What and where are you planting and reaping?

Prayer

Father, knowing my heart as You do, You know my intentions, my thoughts, and my desires. You know my fears and weaknesses. You know what can easily distract me. You know the areas of my life that need greater discipline and structure. Cleanse my heart so that it may be aligned with You, so that I might only sow goodness, with a focus to please the Spirit, and not the flesh. I never want to disappoint You Father. In Your son’s name I pray to You. Amen.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.20.2021

Scripture

All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but Adonai weighs the motives.

Proverbs 16:2 TLV

Reflection

If in your walk you have reason to question whether what you are doing is right in the eyes of the Lord you can ask yourself a series of questions:

• Does it go against God’s commandments?
• Does it go against Jesus’ teachings?
• What do I feel in my gut?
• Could I be punished for this?
• Is it fair, just, honorable?
• Would I do this in front of a person that I respect dearly?
• Would I want the truth of what I’m doing on the front cover of a newspaper or magazine? Would I want this to trend on social media?
• Am I 100% sure that what I’m considering doing is the right thing to do?
• Will I have to repent and ask for mercy for doing this?

There are more questions that you can ask yourself, but you should get the drift. If there is doubt in your mind then you are walking on the ledge, not sure which side to choose. You just need the discernment and clarity, that asking the right questions can deliver. However, if you know for a fact that you would have to repent for your behavior and actions, that you risk being punished— then you have made the choice to walk in darkness. You may be trying to masquerade things as being “good” but your motives are not pure, they do. not glorify God—they most likely glorify you. We tell ourselves rational lies that we think carry enough weight to counterbalance our foolish decisions. If our motives were truly aligned with God then our guts wouldn’t be jumping around trying to warn us. That gut reaction is our spirit communicating through our soul, telling our body that we’re about to be on a slippery slope to pain and agony.

God knows our hearts. He knows our motives. He knows if we are doing something in obedience to Him, as a sign of our gratitude, or in favor of His Kingdom. He also knows if we are doing something to elevate ourselves, to gain the fortune and fame. He knows if we desire the hills and pastures where Abraham lived or the life that Lot led in Sodom. We all should be reminded of what happened to Sodom and its neighbor city, Gomorrah. Oh and the other cities that were influenced by these two greats.

If your gut is warning you, then don’t do it…stop right now and pray to God for direction!

But if you care not to even weigh your decisions, if you casually do and say whatever you want without consideration to whether it is of God— then God will of course weigh things for you.

Prayer

Father, You know my heart and I pray that my motives are in line with Your expectations and plans for me. If they are not I pray that You swiftly and lovingly re-direct me, clarify where I am going wrong, and where You need me to be, so that I do not have to learn the hard way. Father, I wouldn’t call myself a fool, but if I choose to not consult You or listen to You when You try to guide me, then a fool I would be to subject myself to the painstakingly and extremely long way in which to walk. My journey isn’t supposed to be complicated. I complicate it. Father I thank You for Your mercy and I pray for Your grace, as I navigate unfamiliar waters as well as paths that I’m having to revisit due to my foolishness. I want my heart to be right with You, right in Your eyes, fully connected to You. I love You and I’m grateful for You. In Your Name I give all the glory. Amen.

Lovingly,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com

Breaking Bread For 1.19.2021

Message From Natasha: Wow, it’s been a long time since I last connected with all of you. Happy New Year! The past two months have been beyond interesting for me. Highs and lows, and I’m grateful for all of it. I won’t dwell on what didn’t go well nor will I be intoxicated by the moments of bliss. I’m simply focused on getting up each day and doing the work God has called me to do. I will let you know that Seek Him Volume 2 is in its final stages of being wrapped up. Those of you who have been trekking with me in Seek Him Volume 1, you know that we are almost done with that book. Soon that four months will come and go, and we will need to journey into the next four months that Volume 2 provides. I hope that like me, you too are excited for this continued journey. Let’s not falter, waver, slow down, or give up. Let’s push our spiritual comfort zones to the max! Are you up for this challenge? I sure hope so. With that, let’s look at today’s Breaking Bread message.

Scripture

Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the one born of Him. We know that we love God’s children by this—when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God—that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For everyone born of God overcomes the world. And the victory that has overcome the world is this—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world, if not the one who believes that Yeshua is Ben-Elohim?

1 John 5:1-5 TLV

Reflection

In case you don’t know or don’t want to take the time to research online, let me translate the Hebrew words shared in the TLV version above. Yeshua is the Hebrew name of our savior, we call him Jesus. Read my books Seek Him, Volume 1 and Seek Him: Workbook 1, where I share how the name Yeshua became Jesus in English. The word “Ben” means man and “Elohim” means God. So the phrase “Ben Elohim” means Man of God.

The enemy would have us to believe that we don’t really need to follow God’s commandments, that nothing will come from our choice. When you were a child, what happened when you disobeyed your parents? You were punished. What happens when we disobey God? Things don’t go as planned, things fall apart, marriages fall apart, families fall apart, and much more. We risk hurting God’s heart and destroying our relationship with Him. The enemy knows it and bets against you not realizing this. The enemy hopes you never find out.

The enemy would have us believe that God is not with us, that He has abandoned us, that His son is not our shepherd, and that our safest bet would be to not follow God’s commandments— but instead follow the enemy into darkness. The enemy would have you to believe that your success is your doing but your failure is God’s doing (directly or indirectly). The enemy wants you to believe that your healing is from man (medicine doctors) not God, and God is to blame for sickness and death. The enemy wants you to believe that you are solely flesh and that your life here is to try to earn a place in heaven, or fail and end up in hell. The enemy wants you to believe that the world can’t be changed, can’t be overcome, that the evil is too great even for God. The enemy doesn’t need you to outwardly worship him, just worship the things of the world, and don’t worship God. 

What do you believe? Who do you believe? Who do you follow? Who or what do you worship? How do you demonstrate your belief and allegiance to who/what you worship?

I believe in and follow the Father and the Son. I believe that just as Jesus was made of God (Spirit) and of man (through Mary), we too are made of God (Spirit) and man (our human parents). God blessed us with something that even the angels don’t have, a soul. We are born of God and in changing our ways, letting our old ways (our old man) die, we are born again in and of God. Will you continue walking in your old ways, as the old man? Or will you you shed that oldness and embrace the newness that God has been waiting to bless you with. Will you keep dragging around dead weight or stand tall in God’s glory? Our faith in God overcomes the world. Faith, in Hebrew, is translated as “support”. Your support in God overcomes the world. How will you show your support (faith) in God’s plan for your life? How will you show your support (faith) in God’s plan for His followers, and for redeeming the world?

Prayer

Father I believe in You and I believe in Jesus, as Your son. I believe that the only way to strengthen my relationship with You is by obeying You and Your commandments. I know that I must also build a stronger relationship with Jesus, learning through his example, and applying what I learn each day. I support You and Your plans. I can show you my support through my patience, discipline, care, attention to detail, love, compassion, mercy, and grace. I carry this knowledge that You have shared with me in my heart and mind, and promise to work daily to be a better servant and ambassador of Your Kingdom, a better follower of Christ, and a better person. In Your son Jesus’ name I humbly pray. Amen.

Love,

Natasha

Copyright 2011-2021. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved.
All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. BreakingBreadWithNatasha.com