In this week’s Martha Monday video, Laura shared her favorite recipe for sugar cookies. After trying many different varieties through the years, these are the best she’s found. Valentine’s Day may have passed, but these cookies are delicious enough to be their own special occasion!
Download the printable recipe HERE.
Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:9-10
Paul talks about brotherly love in this passage. That’s good. We can embrace that. (Might adapt it for ourselves to say, “sisterly love,” as well.) We’ve released that kind of friendship-love. It feels good. It blesses others and also blesses us: It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
But this passage also includes a sticky caveat: be devoted.
As I wrote this verse out during my Bible study, this sentence was in proverbial neon lights:
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Suddenly Paul’s imperative—be devoted—is sounding less like a random act of kindness and more like an ongoing commitment.
Does God really expect me to be “my sister’s keeper” on a perpetual basis?
Maybe.
Possibly.
Clearly.
Laura: This may take a lot of time.
And then I imagine Jesus responding with a great line often used by my friend Kathy’s husband, Kerry: “And your point?”
I’m shamed and humbled as I realize I don’t mind serving when it’s a one-and-done with no ongoing commitment. I don’t mind releasing love when it’s convenient to my schedule and doesn’t interrupt my life. I might even have unconsciously (or consciously) thought, If I spend all this time loving on this “one another” in my life, when will I have time to take care of me?
Ahhh…now we get to the crux of it, Laura. God has an answer for that, too. In fact, it’s almost like He is listening in on my thought life, because He prompted Paul’s very next words:
Honor one another above yourselves.
Completing my be devoted assignment might mean missing my favorite TV show to support a hurting friend. It might mean carving out some time for serious prayer for the “one another” who needs help. It might mean my closet doesn’t get organized, my boxes don’t get unpacked, or my bathroom doesn’t get painted because I’m running out to pick up her grocery order, take her to lunch, or drive her to the doctor.
Be devoted can be messy, complicated, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. There will not always be a warm, fuzzy “thank you” at the end. There will not always be appreciation and acknowledgment of the sacrifice. I may not get to see fruit from my labor.
But is it not enough that I hear and obey my Lord?
How about a little self-assessment? On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you place yourself on the ‘Be devoted’ continuum: 
Where would you place these love-one-another actions on the Be devoted line?
The words of Scripture are often beautiful—even downright poetic—in our ears. Many are familiar because we memorized them as children. Some are woven into the lyrics of tunes we love to sing along with; we raise our hands in church and sing them loudly, sometimes even with tears in our eyes.
And yet, it’s as if we don’t really know them, because we don’t own the truth we say we believe.
Are you ready to really own the truth you read? Are you ready to say it, sing it, write it, memorize, it, and then LIVE IT?
It’s time for us woman up and get down to business … to allow God to get into our business.
Two millennia (and lot of culture, history, and geography) may separate us from the time Paul penned the words of Romans 12, but the Holy-Spirit-inspired truth is timeless and unchanging:
A passage with not one but two, “one anothers.” Might mean we need to pay extra attention.
Sure hope God is calling you out with this one, as He is me! What does be devoted look like in your life?
This week we welcomed Jennifer Estes, from Cross Church Pinnacle Hills, as the guest lecturer at our women’s Bible study. Jennifer spoke on I Corinthians 12, where Paul addresses spiritual gifts and their vital importance to the body of Christ. We invite you to watch and learn as Jennifer shares her insights on this powerful passage:
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“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet
you also should wash one another’s feet.”
John 13:14
Some biblically-minded young suitors in our modern day have incorporated foot washing into their marriage proposals or wedding ceremonies. If you’ve witnessed this (or even heard of it), perhaps an image like this one comes to mind:
This young man wants to convey both his devotion and his determination to be a servant leader to his betrothed.
First-century foot washing was much less glamorous. Feet in Bible times became crusty, cracked, and calloused, both from wearing strapped-on footwear (or none at all) and from walking on dusty, dirty paths. No sidewalks, no automated transportation, no closed-toed shoes? Those things equal filthy feet.
Perhaps this better depicts the feet Jesus washed in John 13: 
Foot washing in Bible times was a stinky, thankless job, often performed by a servant. It was intended to welcome, bless, and refresh a guest upon entering a home. In ancient cultures, this was a daily ritual, as well as an expression of hospitality, honor, and respect.
When Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, He was demonstrating genuine love—and leaving them with a high standard for loving one another.
I Peter 1:22 challenges us to “love one another deeply.” In washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus modeled a love so deep it required a posture of humility. Releasing this kind of love not only blesses the one whose feet are washed, but flushes away the pride of the one doing the washing.
Jesus was clear: “no servant is greater than his master.”
Is there a job that we might view as beneath us? Have we matured beyond nursery duty, scrubbing the bathroom, or kitchen clean-up?
In the body of Christ, we should never ask or expect someone else to perform a task we would never stoop (literally or figuratively) to do ourselves.
We think of foot washing as an act of blessing for the recipient—and, of course, it was—but perhaps another Biblical truth aptly applies here, as well: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
As we release this blessing, as we wash the proverbial feet of the “one anothers” in our world, we are Christ’s love, with skin on. We are choosing to follow the example of our Lord Jesus.
When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, he washed 24 feet—including those of Judas. Even as He was kneeling in humility, performing this lowliest of acts, He knew the heart of the one before Him. He knew Judas would betray Him. Do we withhold the blessing because we consider the recipient unworthy?
Knowing the truth makes us accountable to live the truth. Jesus said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)
Obedience brings blessing … every single stinkin’ time!
Whose “feet” need some loving care in your world today? Is God is calling you to be the one to do the washing? Don’t miss the blessing He has for you. It comes with obedience.
How is He calling you to love with actions?
Sometimes love is better served up with a bucket and a towel, than with kind words and good thoughts. Today, I invite you to consider how God might be calling you to modern-day “foot washing”—sacrificial actions that could bless you or someone in your life.
In this week’s devotional video, we welcome back guest lecturer Emily Brannon from Cross Church Pinnacle Hills. As Emily unpacks I Corinthians 11, she observes the orderliness of God in creation, marriages, and families, and how it all ties in to being organized in our worship. Marries ladies (and those who hope to be in the future), please watch to the end for some very practical tips on blessing, loving, and honoring your husband!
Keep up with all things Cross My Heart:
This month Laura has a BIG challenge for us — one she has also taken on personally: to memorize an entire CHAPTER in the Bible!
“Hide the Word” is item #2 on the ‘Do It Today’ section of our monthly Do It! List. In today’s video you will hear some inspiration for not only WHY this is beneficial, but five tips for HOW to make it happen!
Find your copy of February’s Do It! List on our Downloads page, and get the I Corinthians 13 printable verse list for this month’s challenge HERE.
Some of us may be too young to remember these popular 1967 lyrics from the Youngbloods:
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
I have no idea if the Youngbloods were followers of Christ, but the sentiment expressed in these famous words seems to capture much of the focus of the one anothers in Scripture: love and unity.
Clearly, this encouragement (or commandment) in the Bible is directed to those in the body of Christ. God uses these passages to provide guidance for how we are to treat each other and live in community.
The one anothers in Scripture are specific and practical. Implementing them requires deliberate thought, action, and time.
As parents, we feel blessed when our own children love each other and behave as friends. How much more must it please our heavenly Father when we do likewise?
Though we direct our acts towards those in the body of Christ, when the one anothers are lived out, they’re evangelical. As Jesus told His disciples (and, by extension, us):
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
John 13:35
People are watching us: our children, our unsaved family members, our neighbors. There is perhaps no greater opportunity for our walk to match our talk than in the way we choose to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
As you and I write the Word each day this month, let’s also commit to making every verse a prayer back to God. Let’s ask Him for a specific assignment — someone in particular to love on, be devoted to, stop passing judgment on, accept, instruct, agree with, encourage, serve, bear with, be kind to, be compassionate to, submit to, teach, admonish, spur on, offer hospitality to, or have fellowship with (and that’s just a partial list).
Tertullian, the well-known leader in the 1st-century church, recorded that pagans looked on the lives of early Christians and commented in wonder, “See how they love one another!” Let’s pray for the same observation about a few of us 21st-century believers!
In this week’s devotional video, Laura introduces our February Write the WORD topic: ONE ANOTHER.
Visit our Downloads page today to find your own copy of this month’s free bookmark and optional S.O.A.P. study pages. While you’re there, we hope you’ll check out the other resources available to you. It’s our sincere prayer that they’ll be a blessing in your life!
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you
out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
I Peter 2:9
God chose the Jews in the Old Testament to be the light to the whole world. This call goes all the way back to Genesis 12 where He promised Abram (the father of the Jewish nation) that through him the whole world would be blessed. The promise was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ—God who became man, born into Abram’s family tree.
We Gentiles were not “Plan B” but were part of God’s plan all the way back to the beginning of the Jewish nation. The death of Jesus satisfied God’s righteous judgment. At the death of Jesus, the curtain separating people from the Holy of Holies was torn in two, top to bottom, rendering us priests. Through Jesus, our high priest, we all have direct access to God. A truth perhaps familiar to us—but absolutely, shockingly extraordinary to a first-century follower of God.
Through Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles are redeemed and become part of God’s holy nation. We are declared holy. Holiness is the result of, not the basis for, our salvation.
He has called us and delivered us out of the darkness of our sin and into His glorious, wonderful light.
Let that truth settle in a bit. Meditate on it. Savor it. Praise God for it. And let that truth prompt you to realize that you belong to Him. And so do I.
Using the currency of His own blood, Jesus bought you (and me). He paid the bloody ransom to release us from the grip of sin. As a result, we belong to the one who set us free. And that freedom comes with a new purpose: to praise Him, to worship Him, and to tell all who will listen of His amazing light and love.
How is He calling you declare His praises today?
This week’s devotional video features Lesson 10 of our Bible study in I Corinthians. Paul provided a history lesson for the believers in Corinth: four choices made by the Israelites that serve as warnings for us today. Watch now as Laura outlines a 10-point battle plan to heed those warnings, fight the fight, and live victoriously.
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Are you ready to switch up the dinner routine? In this week’s Martha Monday video, Laura introduces a new (and easy!) favorite dish: Tikka Masala. Follow her tips to try this delicious Indian dish … without going to a restaurant! It might become one of your weeknight favorites, too!
“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1-2
God has saved me and His light directs me. Because of this, I never need to seek help, direction, or protection from anyone else or look anywhere else.
My past is forgiven.
My present is illuminated.
My future is secure.
God is my protector and sustainer. When the Creator of the universe is your stronghold, there is none higher or better!
Nothing surprises Him.
Nothing hinders Him.
Nothing is too difficult for Him.
He is the light – in Him is no darkness. And (wonder of wonders) He is my light. If you and I were meeting in person, I would look you in the eyes and ask: Is He your light? Would you like Him to be?
David’s words in Psalm 27:1-2 flow from a life lived by learning them. He was a credible witness to God as a stronghold. Picture Him on the run from Saul, clinging to the rock face on one side of the mountain as Saul closed in on the other. Picture him betrayed by his own son. This is the David who wrote Psalm 27 and many others.
The Psalms of David are not merely beautiful poetry—and a balm to hurting hearts – they are diamonds forged from stress, suffering, and difficult circumstances. David can share this truth because David lived this truth.
David declared the Lord his stronghold. He was the one David ran to and held on to in literal life and death situations. Who do you run to when life is hard? Who protects you from evil? Who catches you when you fall?
Hard times reveal the heart. When life gets difficult, the veneer is stripped away and the truth laid bare. The trials of life either prove our witness real or render it meaningless. We prepare best for the bad days by using the in-between days to abide in Him.
Can you declare with David: The Lord is my light…my salvation…my stronghold?
This week’s devotional video features Laura’s teaching lecture on I Corinthians 9. Paul begins by outlining the reasons why he has the right to financial support as an apostle, then changes course to explain why he willingly lays down that right. Paul’s words challenge us to ask ourselves what we’re willing to surrender for the sake of the Gospel.
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Before moving full speed into 2023, we’d like to take a moment during these early days to look back on the ten most popular videos published by Cross My Heart Ministry during the past year. We hope you enjoy this peek into the past (and maybe even discover a favorite video of your own along the way).
Here are our top videos of 2022, in chronological order of their release on our YouTube channel.
In this first lesson from our Spring 2022 women’s Bible study, Laura focuses on the “passing of the baton” from Elijah to Elisha and, specifically, Elisha’s faithfulness and desire to learn. We pray that you will be blessed by this teaching!
Does it sometimes seem like God is slow in holding evil people accountable for their actions? While it seemed to take a long time for God to fulfill His promise in I Kings to bring judgment on the House of Ahab, we see it happening in this video from our study in II Kings. We invite you to listen as Laura teaches on how God used Jehu to bring judgment on the House of Ahab.
We celebrated April Fools Day 2022 with a fun compilation of Laura’s “bloopers” from recording videos!
For all of those who love watermelon but hate the hassle of cutting it up, Laura demonstrates TWO simple ways to cut up a watermelon: in cubes for a fruit salad, and in wedges (with rind) to eat while holding in your hand.
In this prequel to our study in I Corinthians, Laura looks briefly at Acts 18 where we find a little insight into how the church at Corinth was established. We hope you’ll enjoy this intro to our most recent women’s study — and invite you to watch all of the teaching lectures in the series on our YouTube channel!
In this video, Laura unpacks I Corinthians 1:3 where Paul uses opens his letter with, “Grace and Peace to you…” Many of his letters open with this greeting and it’s easy to move past that phrase with little thought. We hope that Laura’s teaching will encourage you to pause each time you hear (or read) “grace and peace” and respond with grateful worship!
Laura began this year’s study of I Corinthians by challenging us to lean into making Bible study and prayer a priority. She also shared some specifics about the ancient city of Corinth — and some greatly concerning parallels to our society today.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and opened by reminding them of who they are and the call on their life. Their identity in Christ means they are called to be HOLY, and so are we! In this teaching lecture, Laura unpacks what it looks like for 21st century believers to embrace our call to be sanctified and holy.
This video features Laura’s teaching as a guest lecturer at Cross Church Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, Arkansas. The group was studying the life of Peter and Laura’s focus text was Acts 15 — The Jerusalem Council.
This Martha Monday video featured an easy recipe to help make breakfast special for the holidays … or ANY time! The recipe has only five ingredients, goes together quickly on busy mornings, and is absolutely delicious!
We hope you enjoyed our Top Ten for 2022! Do you have a favorite video from the list — or even one that’s different from these? Let us know in the comments!
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw the light was good
and he separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:3-4
Apart from God, there is only darkness. The earth was dark until God spoke, and by His word alone, brought light to the dark world.
Darkness can be eerie, scary, frightening, and even hopeless. This is true both physically and spiritually.
Our hearts are eerie, scary, frightening, and hopeless until God’s light, the light of Jesus, illumines to our hearts, providing hope not just for today but for all eternity.
The light God brings cannot be manufactured by mere humans. There was no switch for Adam and Eve to flip – there was no Adam and no Eve, until God also created them! – to create light.
Our powerful, creative God spoke light into existence “in the beginning.” He thought it up and with just a word, He illuminated all of creation.
He provided light to the world physically. He also provided light spiritually through the person of Jesus Christ, the light of the world. John 1:1 says of Jesus,
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.”
John 1:1-2
Do you see the parallels between Genesis 1 and John 1?
God’s WORD was powerful enough to bring light from darkness … not just physically, but spiritually!
Is He the light of your world? Are you allowing his light to penetrate the darkness – to bring hope, illumination, and salvation to your life?
What’s the difference between a New Year’s WISH and a New Year’s RESOLUTION? Get Laura’s answer in our latest teaching video! We invite you to watch as Laura takes a deeper look at Psalm 89:15 – one of the verses on our Write the WORD bookmark for January 2023.
It’s not too late to join us this month as we read, write, and study verses with the word, “light.” Visit our Downloads page today to find your copy of our printable Write the WORD bookmark, S.O.A.P. Bible study outlines, and more!
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