Cross My Heart Ministry

If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves
and pray
and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin
and I will heal their land.
II Chronicles 7:14

Have you downloaded this month’s Write the WORD bookmark? If so, you know the verses selected all are chosen because they can speak to us in times of trouble. Trouble can lead us to fret and frenzy, to hyperactivity or fearful paralysis. Sometimes we alternate through all those responses in the course of a day! 

Times of trouble are heart-revealers. Times of trouble are also opportunities for us to walk out our faith. Choosing faith over the two extremes — fear or frenzy — is hard. But it’s also possible.  

If we want to stand in faith, I’m convinced we must abide in His Word and remain in a spirit of prayer. And that’s precisely what we hope reading, writing, and praying the Word this month (and every month) will help you do! 

The verse above from II Chronicles 7:14 may be familiar to many of us. You may read it, and even tend to immediately move to “scan” mode … thinking, “I know this one.” 

But do you know it? Have you dissected it? Let’s parse this verse today and glean some insight, phrase by phrase: 

My people ⇒  Clearly, this verse is directed to the people of God.  

Who are called by my name ⇒  When we define ourselves as Christians, we take on the name of Christ! 

If…then ⇒  This verse has covenant language. God has four things for us to do, and then He promises what He will do.  

Our four things: 

1. We must humble ourselves.
   Perhaps the reason we bow our heads or bow our knee when we pray is to adopt a physical posture that reflects our inward attitude. Only a humble heart can truly seek God. The best antidote for pride is to come before God. In His presence, we are aware of who He is – and who we are not. 
2. Pray.
   We all believe in prayer. If prayer were outlawed, we would make signs and march to protest. Yet, in our freedom to pray, we often fail to pray. Prayer is less about getting what we want and more about getting ourselves aligned with what God wants. Before we engage to do things for God, it is imperative we spend time with God.  
3. Seek His Face.
   We know we have persevered in prayer— we have prayed through to amen — when we can truly seek His face and be content with His will. Our Lord Jesus wrestled in prayer the night before His crucifixion. He was prayed up when He was ready to pray the prayer that never fails, “Thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:29-42) 
4. Turn from wicked ways.
   God did not call us to turn from our sin first. Cleaning ourselves up is never a prerequisite to come before Him. God knows we cannot conquer our sin on our own. It’s only possible in Him and through Him. The awareness of our sin comes when we stand before Him and behold His holy perfection. I can turn from my wicked ways because I have turned to Him. He enables me to do what I can never do on my own. This is not legalism, friend. This is freedom. Joy. Peace.  

And when we do our part, God does His. Note the three “I will’s” in this passage: 

1. I will hear. 
   We may find it impossible to get an appointment with the mayor, the governor, the president, the CEO, or the committee chair, but God is available to us 24/7. The Creator of the Universe listens to us. He hears us when we call.  
2. I will forgive.  
   His well of forgiveness never runs dry. He continues to pump it out far beyond what the most patient of humans would consider reasonable. Are we carrying a burden that can be lifted for the asking? Why struggle under the load of guilt and shame when freedom and forgiveness are available? Sin loses its grip on us when we allow Him to lift it.  
3. I will heal their land. 
   When followers of God seek God, those in the land are also recipients of His grace. Our blessings become the blessings of our fellow humans. Healing may be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. God’s thoughts and God’s ways are higher than our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9). We see with human eyes, while He sees for eternity. But He is trustworthy. He is a God of love. He is for us.  

I read this verse and am startled and humbled to realize that I am culpable for many of things I have too often blamed on the world — the media, the schools, the government, the entertainment industry, etc. I have been good at identifying the problems, but in this passage, God challenges me to be part of the answer.  

Will you join with me this month in praying for the U.S.A. during this 250th year of our country’s existence?

In this week’s teaching video from Laura, Paul continues his relentless desire for his spiritual children in Galatia to rest in faith-based righteousness instead of reverting to works-based righteousness. He goes all the way back to Abraham and his two wives to help us see the contrast between slavery and freedom, law and grace. We hope this week’s teaching, inspired by the great Westminster Chapel pastor, G. Campbell Morgan, will help you glean a deeper understanding of God’s magnificent grace.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more
in knowledge and depth of insight…”
Philippians 1:9-11

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in the first century is a great one for us to pray over our prodigals in the 21st century. The topic of his prayer is love.

Ahhh ……. love. The theme of the songs we love to sing, the rudder that steers our ship, and the glue that keeps us connected to others.

But what is love exactly? A feeling? A commitment? A choice?

When a teenager falls in love, we deem it “puppy love,” implying it will fade with time. We talk about being lovesick – suggesting an inability to function or behave normally. Love has been deemed mysterious, unpredictable, and disconcerting. The Greeks needed more than one word to describe what English speakers sum up simply as “love”: phileo, eros, agape.

As we struggle to understand, define, and live out love, perhaps Paul can help. His prayer for the Philippians in chapter one of the book that bears their name is a powerful prompt for us to pray over our prodigals (and ourselves), as it simultaneously teaches us much about prayer as it sheds light on the topic of love.

Please take a moment to read this passage slowly and thoughtfully:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ— to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s prayer offers great insight into the subject of love then and now. Clearly, it is more than a feeling and has purpose beyond ourselves.

Love is not static – it is growing, expanding, and prompts action and change.

When love leads out, we know what is right (“discern what is best”) and we do what is right (“pure and blameless”). Knowing what is right and then following through by doing what is right is what I call “smart love.“ The resulting choices lead to purity and righteousness. As we continue to make those decisions, a lifestyle develops. Love “abounds more and more.” And the epitome of it all: God is glorified.

Join with me in praying for your prodigal:

God Almighty, please draw my prodigal back to the path of “smart love.” He/she has wandered away pursuing a perception of love that really isn’t love at all. Let this precious one – created in Your image and cherished by You – come to his/her senses today. Stir up his/her heart with a holy discontent. I pray life would feel boring, meaningless, and lacking as he/she looks around. And in that moment, may he/she look up and look to You. Rekindle that spark of faith. Draw this one to You! I pray the one I love would run back to You and that You would fill his/her heart with a hunger for love that is discerning. May that love grow and flourish to prompt him/her to know what is right and follow through in doing what is right. May love for you grow daily, abound more and more, produce righteousness, and bring You glory and praise!

In the scripture passage for this week’s devotional video, Paul exhorts the Galatians to see that by embracing law-keeping they are forfeiting their identity as sons and choosing instead to live as slaves. How do we do the same all these years later? Keeping the law (legalism) brings insecurity as we continually strive to be good enough. But a child of God can live as His beloved child – fully known and also fully loved.

We invite you to watch and listen to this week’s lecture from Laura’s Bible study, and then ask God to show you where you may be vulnerable to SELF-righteousness … rather than enjoying the peace and joy of righteousness rooted in faith.

“…take hold of the life that is truly life.”
I Timothy 6:19

Paul wrote these words to Timothy — the young man he called “my true son in the faith” (I Timothy 1:2). Timothy received not one, but two letters from Paul, perhaps demonstrating not only the depth of the relationship, but awareness of the weight of the baton Paul was passing.

Though written specifically to Timothy, you and I — together with Bible readers for twenty centuries — are privileged to glean from the wisdom passed from a spiritual father to a spiritual son.

What I tend to believe about wisdom is this: life will bring it. Living brings learning. That’s the natural, long-route way to arrive at wisdom. But those who are teachable get to take a shortcut. The ones willing to heed the sage advice of those who have traveled the road ahead of them, can benefit tremendously. They have joy in the journey, they take the best route, and they avoid many of the detours and pitfalls that life often brings.

The phrase, “the life that is truly life,” resonates perhaps even better to a 21^st-century audience than a first-century one. Our society has become consumed with stuff — we accumulate toys, we buy clothes we seldom wear, we are driven to replace what we have with the latest version, model, or color. After a while, the stuff we own seems to own us!

Are we individually and collectively chasing the counterfeit instead of the real?

Are we permitting the temporary to trump the eternal?

In this verse, Paul is wrapping up a teaching about riches and wealth where he encouraged a choice to “be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” This type of investment reaps dividends for eternity.

Even the minimalists and the most frugal among us can get caught up in the consumer mentality. When we say “no” to ourselves, we loosen the consumer grip. Releasing our grip on stuff frees us our hands (and hearts) to “take hold of the life that is truly life.”

What are we holding on to? What is most valuable to us? The prodigals we love may be chasing the next raise, the bigger house, or the newer car. They may be seeking acceptance and approval from friends (or strangers), or investing in nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of the moment. As we pray for an eternal mindset for them, we can pray also for ourselves — that we would model richness in good needs, a spirit of generosity, and a willingness to share the abundant blessings that God has given us.

Are you and I holding on tight to that which will last? Are we releasing the manufactured / counterfeit / temporary life for the eternal “life that is truly life”? Would you make some time today to consider Paul’s wise counsel to his “son” Timothy … and to ask your own Heavenly Father, “What do I need to release, so that I can grab hold of real life?”

This month, our Write the WORD bookmark features verses we can pray over the prodigals in our lives — those who KNOW Jesus, who made a COMMITMENT to Jesus, but are not WALKING with Jesus.

In this week’s devotional video, Laura offers some words to pray from John 14:26. We invite you to listen, and then (if you haven’t already) download your copy of this month’s bookmark from our Downloads page. When you print it, there are THREE on the page. We hope you’ll share with two friends and encourage them to pray, too! Won’t you join with us in praying every day this month for the prodigal friend, parent, aunt, co-worker, sister, brother, uncle, or child in your life?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in
and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

Jesus is always there, knocking on the door of our hearts. He waits patiently for us to hear his voice and ask Him in. He is ready to release love, mercy, forgiveness, guidance, and whatever else we desperately need.

Jesus is a gentleman. He will not barge in uninvited. He will not push down the door. He will not force his way into our hearts.

But when we finally choose to hear His voice and open the door to our lives, He kindly comes in.

We often hear, quote, and apply Revelation 3:20 to unbelievers who need to invite Jesus in for salvation. But it’s a powerful verse — and perhaps truer to context — when applied to those who know Christ and need to repent.

These are words of Jesus —  His voice. If you have a “red-letter” version of the Bible, this passage in Revelation 3 is highlighted. Placed at the end of a series of letters to the seven churches, Revelation 3:20 specifically addresses the church at Laodicea, the worst of the seven.

As we continue our Praying for Prodigals series, this verse is a good one to pray over those we love who have wandered away or allowed their faith to grow cold.

Verse 16 describes the Laodiceans as lukewarm. Does that describe your prodigal?

Revelation 3:17 confirms they are not only lukewarm, they are lacking in self-awareness. Perhaps a lack of self-awareness leads to complacency in matters of faith.

The Laodiceans then — and many of our prodigals now — believed themselves to be rich in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Prodigals can display a smugness, an attitude of certainty. They believe they have not only figured out the important questions of life, but have also mastered the answers.

The real issue, of course, is pride. When pride takes root, it leads to, among other things, self-deception and self-sufficiency.

While they see themselves as having everything they need, Jesus says:

“…you are wretched pitiful, poor, blind, and naked….” Revelation 3:17b

Our prodigals may be listening to many other voices. They are prioritizing other issues, objectives, causes, and concerns. They have so filled their hearts and minds with what they see as important, that they have crowded out who is most needed: Jesus.

Let’s pray today that they will realize their need for Him — that today their eyes would be opened to see themselves as “wretched pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Let’s pray that this would be the day they hear His voice above the cacophony of all the others vying for their attention.

Like the prodigal son who finally “came to his senses” (Luke 15:17), let’s pray our prodigals wake up, look around at the mess they’re in, and go home. Like Jesus knocking at the door, the faithful father in the parable was there waiting to welcome the prodigal home.

Lord Jesus,
let today be the day our prodigals hear your voice
and open wide the door to You!

We were thrilled to have Jenifer Siemens, one of the members of our local women’s Bible study group, present this week’s teaching lecture! We invite you to listen and be blessed by this week’s devotional video as Jenifer unpacks a challenging passage from Galatians 3.

Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times
and cried out to the Lord,
“Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
I Kings 17:21

Elijah’s life is a fascinating story of ups and downs as he served and obeyed God. Sandwiched between giving Ahab what-for (I Kings 17:1) and calling down fire on Mt. Carmel (I Kings 18:16-46), he was sent to live with an impoverished, non-believing widow. When that widow’s son died, Elijah picked up the boy’s lifeless body and began to pray.  

But this was no ordinary, mundane memorize-it-and-recite-it prayer. This prayer does not begin, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” Elijah cried out to God. This is a prayer not just spoken from the mouth, but from a hurting heart — an agonizing, gut-wrenching, “God, do what only YOU can do” kind of prayer.  

And that’s precisely the kind of prayer journey I invite you to take with me this month, as we pray for the prodigals in our lives.  

We all have them. They may be a child, a husband, a sister. They may be a favorite uncle or aunt, a grandparent, a cousin, or a parent. Everybody knows somebody who once claimed to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but for some reason has wandered — or, in some cases, run — away from Him. 

Your heart aches when you think of heaven without her (or him). You’ve cried a bucket of tears and prayed countless times. But still they persist in living a life apart from God. You’ve sent Christian greeting cards, slipped note cards with Bible verses into care packages, and even cajoled this loved one into occasionally warming the pew next to you on Sunday morning. The result: present in body, but mind checked out.  

When doctors place an unresponsive individual on life support, tearful relatives declare, “All we can do now is pray.” Are you ready to declare the same for your spiritually comatose loved one? Are you ready to cry out in prayer? 

For many of us, thoughts turn to love in February. We’re surrounded by Valentine’s Day cards and flowers and heart-shaped cookies in the case of our local coffee shop. But it can be a painful time for parents of prodigals. This month we want to lean into that sacred place of fervent prayer. We want to equip and empower you with the Word of God, as you cry out for the prodigal you love.  

The Scripture tells us Elijah prayed three times. That observation may prompt us to ask, “Why three times?” I love what Richard Blackaby says about this in his book, Living Out of the Overflow:  “Clearly, Elijah prayed over the boy three times because that is how many times it took! Had Elijah been required to pray over the boy 49 times, we have no doubt he would have done so. Elijah was not prepared to cease interceding until life returned.” (pg. 52.) 

My challenge to you — and to myself — is this: let’s cry out to God every day, beginning today and continuing on as long as it takes. Whether our prodigals know the Savior but are not living for Him, or never truly committed their lives to Him, let’s pray they come to Jesus!

In this week’s devotional study video, we move from Personal (Chapters 1-2) to Doctrinal (Chapters 3-4). Paul is passionate as he opens with five rhetorical questions for the Galatians. After beginning their new life in the Spirit, they have cycled back to law-keeping. He uses personal appeal, logic, and Scripture to make his case and get their attention.

We invite you to watch this latest video and hope you will be blessed (and challenged) as you hear Laura’s teaching on this passage. How is God calling you to rely on the Spirit?

“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” I Samuel 12:23

The passage above is just a brief excerpt from Samuel’s farewell address to the people. It is one verse, with two sentences.

At first glance, those two sentences offer two true — but somewhat unrelated — ideas.

Does Samuel change topics mid-verse? Not at all.

When I reflect on this passage, some initial takeaways from I Samuel 12:23 include:

~ failure to pray is a sin,
~ a good leader must first be a praying leader,
~ praying must precede teaching,
~ the content of a leader’s teaching must highlight what is good and right.

Given these observations, we can then work in reverse to see the seamless truth Samuel conveyed to the people then — and, by extension, to us now.

If the end goal is to teach what is good and right, the only way to discern what qualifies is through wisdom from God Almighty. We cannot find good and right on our own; only God can reveal it to us! And, like all truth, you must know it before you can teach it. God often — and in fact, almost always — requires a leader to first eat what he or she serves.

Leaders, make no mistake, include not just those who stand at a podium, but those who raise children, chair committees, lead a team, or are sought out for advice. Every one of us can lead someone and can influence the thoughts, actions, attitudes, and behaviors of others. Are we stewarding that influence well? Are we consciously wielding our influence with purposeful intention?

If we are to teach what is good and right, we must know it … to know it, we must receive it from God … to receive it from God, we must ask God. Asking God means praying to God. And if I am attempting to fulfill my call to invest in, love on, and/or teach others without prayer, I am sinning!

Are you connecting the dots? Do you see the relationship between praying and teaching? Are you convicted? Are you challenged? Will you commit now to PRAY for those you are called to TEACH – whether formally or informally, whether with a microphone or with an example?

Samuel’s words to the nation of Israel were weighty then, and they are weighty now. May we hear … and may we heed.

It took courage for Paul to confront a man who was older than him, had walked with Jesus longer, and was even one of the original twelve disciples. But when Peter embraces behavior that abandons the gospel, Paul leans in to have a hard conversation.

We invite you to watch and listen to this week’s Friday teaching video and declare these “Woman of God” truths with us:
~ The Woman of God is set free by the gospel and lives free by the gospel.
~ The Woman of God keeps her eyes on Jesus.