Cross My Heart Ministry

Do you think of only the New Testament when you hear the name, Jesus? Does the Old Testament bring to mind the Patriarchs, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the Lion’s Den?

Our prayer is that after writing the WORD with us this month, you will see that the entirety of scripture – both Old and New Testament – is really all about Jesus! Like proverbial breadcrumbs dropped down to lead us, Old Testament prophecies serve as clues that point readers forward to the promised Messiah. Only Jesus satisfies (or fulfills) all of the Old  Testament promises and predictions.

My quick internet search reveals that the life of Jesus fulfills over 300 Old Testament prophecies! 300! He is the One and Only … the Son of God and Son of Man and Savior of the world.

This month we will explore a smattering of those prophecies. We’ve selected only 14 of the 300 and lined them up with their New Testament counterparts to see each fulfilled.

We pray this reading and writing is worshipful for you. We pray it prompts you to wonder anew at the person of Jesus – who He is, what He has done, and what it all means.

May our time together in the Word lead us all to wonder and to worship with fresh eyes and renewed faith.

God became man. He chose to come. And He’s coming back.

Merry Christmas.

Our December Write the WORD bookmark may look a little different than usual, as we are changing it up a bit for Christmas! We needed a full page to lay out the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus Christ, alongside the corresponding fulfillment found in the New Testament.

Our prayer is that as you submerge yourself in the Word of God this month, you will discover anew that Jesus is indeed the One and Only Messiah – the Son of God and the Savior of the World– and will worship Him with renewed wonder and joy! Merry Christmas!

Visit our Downloads page today for your copy of this month’s Write the WORD bookmark!

“I thank and praise you, O God of my Fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel 2:23

When Babylon conquered Jerusalem, Daniel and his friends were part of the group taken captive. Daniel was determined to remain faithful to God even while living under Babylonian rule.  

Desiring not to defile himself by eating the Babylonian “royal food,” he asked for permission from the guard for an exemption. Daniel did not launch a hunger strike, or incite the other prisoners to protest. He was respectful in his request for a 10-day food and water test. God honored the desire of Daniel’s heart by giving him favor with the guard.  

As David honored God, God was faithful to continue to bless him during this time of captivity:

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding
of all kinds of literature and learning.
And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.”
Daniel 1:17

Verse 20 goes on to note that, when questioned by the king on matters of wisdom and understanding, Daniel was ten times more accurate than all of the magicians and other advisors in the kingdom. Clearly, God was providing and giving Daniel favor.  

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and followed it with an unreasonable request: not only did he want an interpretation, he wanted his astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When none could pass the test, he declared that all the wise men — including Daniel and his friends — would be executed.  

When Daniel heard of the edict, he asked for time to interpret the dream, then immediately called his friends to prayer.  

Is prayer to God our first response when we get bad news? Daniel’s action teaches us to go immediately to God when the task is impossible. He also teaches us to call others to join us in prayer.  

Daniel prayed. His friends prayed. And God answered: 

“During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision…”
Daniel 2:19a

And then what did Daniel do? Dance a jig? Throw a party? Hug his friends? None of that … although those responses may have come later. The very first thing Daniel did was to begin thanking and praising God. The rest of verse 19 reads: 

“…Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.”

Daniel did not delay. He wasted no time in praising God for the answer to his prayer. The words of his beautiful prayer are recorded above. He knew the provision came from God and he was careful to thank God for the revelation. 

When life brings us challenging news, we typically rush to pray and ask others to pray, as well. Are we in an equal hurry to begin thanking and praising God when He answers?  

We learn two important lessons from Daniel: 

1. When you get bad news, pray. 
2. When God gives an answer to your prayer, thank Him for the answer.  

Has God answered prayers for you this week … this month … this year? Have you thanked and praised Him for those answers? It’s never too late to say thank you! 

Will you join with me in resolving to be women who first take every need to God, and then thank and praise Him when He provides an answer?  

This week’s Friday teaching video focuses on Nehemiah 10, the culmination of rebuilding the lives of God’s people. In Nehemiah 8 and 9, they returned to His WORD, listening to the scriptures read aloud for hours. They worshiped, remembered, and repented.

As we move into Chapter 10, the people come together to sign a covenant, committing their lives to God. Old Testament history confirms this is not the first time they’ve made a commitment to God.

When it comes to obedience, we can get there, but struggle to stay there — just like the Israelites from the days of Nehemiah. This side of the Cross, God’s covenant is written on our hearts. We invite you to watch this week’s teaching video and ask yourself whether your heart has been “crossed.”

“They were also to stand every morning
to thank and praise the LORD.
They were to do the same in the evening.”
I Chronicles 23:30

I Chronicles 23 lays out the duties for the Levites: 

• Purify the sacred things 
• Tend to the courtyard and side rooms 
• See to the bread for the table, flour for the grain offerings, and the unleavened wafers 
• Baking 
• Mixing 
• Measuring 

At the end of this long list of duties is added the words of verse 30 found above: “stand…thank and praise…”  

Does it seem strange that the spiritual duties are listed along with the physical? Did the Levites show up for Temple Duty 101 training and receive a chore chart with a check list: 

• Thank and Praise 
• Purify 
• Bake 
• Mix 
• Thank and Praise 

Weaving thanks and praise into the daily rhythm made it part of the fabric of their lives. It began to define who they were. Like bookends on the day, it signaled the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.  

Perhaps beginning and ending with thanks and praise meant it began to bleed into what happened in the middle as well. 

Is it possible that Brother Lawrence, the lowly monk of the 17th century who taught us to serve and worship God as we go about our daily task, was inspired by this same passage? Brother Lawrence teaches us: 

“Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love,
they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love,
and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself
into the consciousness of God’s presence.
Yet it might be so simple.
Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business
wholly for the love of him?”

Thanking and praising God as we begin and end our day will perhaps spur us to make all our “common business” in the middle acts of loving devotion to our good God.  

Brother Lawrence washed dishes, tended the garden, and completed the mundane tasks of day-to-day life as a monk. But he did it out of love for God. 

Each day, the Levites baked, mixed, and assisted the priests with repetitive, monotonous tasks. But they began and ended with thanks and praise to God. 

Could we do the same? Can we commit to plant our feet on the floor each morning and lift our hands up to God with thanks and praise for another day?  

Can we then go about our daily list – which may also including washing dishes, tending to a garden, baking and mixing, but also driving, cooking, teaching, shopping, working, and a zillion other “-ings”– in “consciousness of God’s presence” and “wholly for the love of him?” 

As we fall into bed tired but satisfied with what we accomplished, can we then end our day as we began: in thanks and praise to God? 

All this thanking and praising, I believe, will make the ordinary more sacred, the ho-hum have purpose, and colorize what may, at times, seem like a gray existence.  

Of course, we automatically thank and praise Him for the big stuff: when the job comes through, the biopsy is negative, or the tax refund comes just in time to pay the insurance bill.  

But it is when we begin thanking and praising God for the daily small stuff – the ordinary, run-of-the-mill, everyday events – that we begin to truly abide in Him. We draw close. We sense His presence. Transformation happens. 

November is known for many things: Thanksgiving, election day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and No-Shave November, to name a few. But what if we launched our own new November tradition? Let’s call it No-Grumble November! Let’s choose to launch it by joining with the Levites of the Old Testament to stand each morning, and again each evening, to thank and praise God.  

What are you thanking and praising Him for today? 

This week’s Friday video is a bit different because Laura’s Bible study hosted its once-per-semester Love Out Loud. This day, which is held twice per year, is a mini missions/ministry event, and is a huge favorite for these ladies who are kind, generous, and love to bless others.

For many years, our fall project has been Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. It seems like a small thing: packing a shoe box with gifts for a child, which is then delivered to a place in the world we most likely will never visit. But, when you touch the heart of a child, you also open the door of the heart of those who love that child … and because the gospel is shared at these “Shoe box Parties,” entire families and villages get to hear about Jesus. Our small gifts take on kingdom-changing eternal significance.

This year we packed 146 boxes! Amazing! What a joy to pray into those boxes and the child that will open each. We may never know until eternity the impact each has made, but we were greatly blessed by working together to send them!

Visit our Downloads page for this month’s Write the WORD bookmark … our focus for November is GIVING THANKS!

He appointed some of the Levites
to minister before the ark of the LORD,
to extol, thank, and praise the LORD,
the God of Israel.
I Chronicles 16:4 (NIV)

To extol, thank, and praise – a good description of prayer.  

Thank and praise are both standard in our “Christian vocabulary” but extol feels more unfamiliar.   

Perhaps other Bible translations offer some insight: 

• NASB:  celebrate 
• NKJV:  commemorate 
• CEB:  remember 

The Ark represented the presence of God. And in God’s presence, certainly a suitable response is to extol, thank, and praise. Those things are worship – our appropriate response to Him.  

In Old Testament times, proximity to the Ark (representing the presence of God) was an honor reserved for the Levites. This was a holy, sacred privilege. Others would worship God from a distance … but the Levites were permitted to extol, thank, and praise Him up close. 

Because you and I live this side of the Cross, there is no distinction. Each believer has personal access to God because of the sacrifice made by Jesus. At his death, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, and all of us can extol, thank, and praise God directly. We need not be a Levite to have this tremendous privilege.  

We worship as an acknowledgment of who He is and what He has done. He reveals His glory to us. We see His fingerprints all around us. All creation bears testimony to his creativity, power, and love. God’s goodness and His greatness prompt us to give Him glory – to extol, thank, and praise Him. We do not add to His glory, but we react to what we witness. He reveals, we respond. 

As children of God, we can join our voices with David in declaring, 

 “I will extol the LORD at all times,
His praise will ever be on my lips.”
Psalm 34:1

It’s easy for our prayer lives to become a mere recitation of, “Lord, do this, do that, help him, be with her…” Before we know it, we’ve allowed our prayers to spiral down to little more than a laundry list. Now is the time to change that.  

During this season of giving thanks, let’s challenge one another to more giving to God – our thanks, our worship, our obedience – and less asking of Him.  To HIM be the glory! 

Nehemiah 9 records the longest prayer in the entire Bible – a rhythm of worship and confession, examining the history of God’s people and their interaction with Him. In this chapter, God’s goodness and greatness stands in sharp contrast to the sin and disobedience of His chosen people. We invite you to watch Friday’s teaching lecture, and then prayerfully make time to use the prayer from Nehemiah 9 as a template for your own.

When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD,
sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
Leviticus 22:29

This month’s Write the WORD is devoted to GIVING THANKS.  

A “thank offering” that we find in scripture is a type of fellowship offering. My research reveals that these offerings were made as a grateful expression of thanks for: 

1. Trouble averted – sickness, death, etc. 
2. Blessings received 

When a sacrifice was made in Old Testament times, blood was involved. An animal had to die. As the animal was slaughtered, surely the thought would come, “I am here to honor God because He has blessed me — either taken away the bad or provided the good — and an animal has to die for me to be blessed.”  

As that thought works its way into the heart and mind, the realization comes that every good gift comes from God. The ultimate gift is His Son, Jesus. Jesus had to die to take away the bad (our sin) and to provide the good (eternal life later, and blessing upon blessing now).  

Leviticus 22:29-30 reveals the offering was to be eaten the same day – none was to be left until morning. We may not call it a “Thank Offering” today, but we certainly do celebrate with food: anniversaries, birthdays, banquets to mark special events or achievements, and holiday dinners. As the holiday season approaches and we begin to plan Thanksgiving dinner, let’s not overlook the giving of thanks part of the holiday.  

Though we won’t be slaughtering an animal to present at the Temple, let’s choose to intentionally offer up thanks to God for our own trouble averted and blessings received during 2024. Let’s acknowledge and praise Him as the deliverer and the provider of it all. 

As the thanks in our heart are shared on our tongue, they make an impact. A declaration is made for others to hear. And if your Thanksgiving dinner table — or family wiener roast or soccer team awards banquet — includes those who do not know or acknowledge God, then your words of praise are a sacrifice to Him. You share that praise, take that risk, and honor the One who provided every good gift.  

Let’s commit to making that sacrifice of praise this holiday season, and in the coming year!

In this week’s devotional video, we share the teaching lecture from Laura’s latest Bible study. With the walls rebuilt and the gates in place, the focus of Nehemiah 8 shifts to rebuilding the lives of the God’s chosen people spiritually. As they come together and ask for the Word of God, their reverence for it is clear as they mourn their sin and worship the Lord. We invite you to listen to Friday’s thoughts from Laura, then prayerfully consider your own response to God’s Word.

Have you begun writing along with us this month? Our Write the WORD topic for November is GIVING THANKS. Won’t you visit our Downloads page today to get your own copy of this month’s bookmark, and join us as we prepare our hearts for the holiday season by digging deep into what the scriptures tell us about thankfulness?

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
When they saw him, they worshiped him;
but some doubted.”
Matthew 28:16-17 

Most of us are familiar with Matthew 28:19-20. In Christian circles, it’s commonly known as The Great Commission. 

If we grew up in church, we’ve probably memorized it, quoted it, wrote it in calligraphy, worn it on a tee shirt, and even learned to sing it to a little jingle at VBS. The words of the Great Commission begin, “Go and make disciples…”  

The word “Go” suggests action and activity. The “Martha” in us likes the GO. We appreciate an assignment to serve the Kingdom:  

• Go pick up craft supplies for Sunday School 
• Go visit the nursing home 
• Go on the mission trip 

Go, go, go for Jesus! We are taught to live an active faith — and we should live an active faith. Jesus left us with a commandment and we need to take it seriously.  

But before we jump to the GO of Matthew 28:19, let’s first read what came before. Back up to verses 16-17, recorded above.  

Before the Great Commission, the disciples were told to go to the mountain. They obeyed, and their obedience was rewarded — they got to see Jesus!  

And when they saw Jesus, I believe they did the only thing we can do when we truly see Jesus: worship! 

You and I can “go to the mountain” every day, too. We can meet Jesus here and now. We do it when we open His Word. He meets us there, reveals truth to us there … and we respond in worship. It’s a daily time that must be prioritized and cherished. This daily commitment will transform us into mature women of God who are “working out their salvation” (Philippians 2:12).

And then look what happened after worship: they received their assignment. The work flowed from their worship.  

Perhaps we are too quick to rush to the GO. When we worship first, we ensure that the GO is something Jesus wants done, and that it is a GO He intends for us to do, rather than someone else.

Before grabbing your clipboard, grab your Bible. Go to the mountain. Worship. Fill up before you pour out. Then ask Jesus, Where and to whom is my GO today?

Can we challenge one another to worship before we work? 

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura introduces our Write the WORD topic for November: Giving Thanks. We hope this monthly resource is a blessing to you! Please watch and listen as Laura shares a short devotional on “Giving Thanks” inspired by a verse from Leviticus that appears on our November bookmark.

After watching, we hope you’ll download your copy and prepare to start writing with us later this week. You’ll also find our optional S.O.A.P. Bible study outlines, as well as other free resources, on our Downloads page!

Ezra opened the book.
All the people could see him because
he was standing above them;
and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
Nehemiah 8:5

Don’t you just love this visual of God’s people standing spontaneously and reverently to honor the Word of God?  

Standing helped their hearts and minds focus intently. Their choice to stand communicated their awe for the Word and their readiness to drink deep from the living water flowing forth from it. They were thirsty! They were eager! The posture of their bodies reflected the posture of their hearts. 

This verse has prompted me to ask those listening to stand as I read the Word aloud before teaching. Oh, that believers of today would be just as thirsty as those listening to Ezra on that day!

Now look at what happened next: 

Ezra praised the LORD, the great God,
and all the people lifted their hands and responded,
“Amen! Amen!”
Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD
with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:6

The peopled joined with Ezra in giving God praise for His Word.  Their “Amen!” conveys agreement; another translation might be, “So be it!” And note their posture in worship: they bowed down. God’s Word humbles us. We see who God is, and what God requires, and we realize we are lacking. We worship Him because He loves us … in spite of us! 

The proper response to the Word of God was — and still is — PRAISE!

As you and I read the Word, may we respond likewise: 

• Eagerness to receive it 
• Reverence when we hear it 
• Humility as it convicts us 
• Worship to God who gives it 
• Agreement with it – and choosing to live it

God’s Word both deserves and demands a response. Whether or not we stand physically, is the posture of our heart eagerness and reverence?  

Whether or not we bow down physically, are we humbled spiritually?  

Does God’s Word draw us to worship – to glorify Him as we hear it?  

And finally, do we agree with God? Does our “Amen!” truly mean “so be it”?

Are you ready to listen and respond, to worship and bow down, to hear and obey, as you acknowledge God’s Word with joyful praise and a heart of surrendered obedience? 

May the Spirit of God take the Word of God and stir up praise to God from the people of God! 

In the sixth chapter of the book of Nehemiah, the work on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem continues, but so does the opposition. In this week’s lesson from Laura’s Bible study, we learned that the enemies of God’s people resorted to deception — to trickery and treachery — in their attempts to stop the work. But Nehemiah remained steadfast. He focused on his assignment from the Lord and the walls were completed.

As believers, you and I may be targets of the enemy’s lies, as well. We invite you to listen and learn from this week’s teaching lecture, with hope and prayer that God equips you with wisdom to discern truth and reject falsehoods as you seek to follow Him in your life.

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