Cross My Heart Ministry

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Ephesians 5:21 

Here is yet another verse underscoring that our relationship with Jesus makes every other relationship work. 

If I love Jesus, I will love the “one anothers” in my life. Because I have been forgiven by Jesus, I must forgive the “one anothers” in my life. And because I want to honor and revere Jesus, I will submit to the “one anothers” in my life.  

Jesus is the inspiration, the reason, and the joyful compulsion for pushing forward to release inexplicable love, forgiveness, respect, and honor.  

And, most importantly, He is also the source of the ability to get it done.  

There is no fuel in my fleshly engine to love and keep on loving, to forgive and keep on forgiving, to submit and keep on submitting. The assignment is way too exhausting, painful, time-consuming, and humiliating.  

I can’t do it. The “Laura” in me gives out, gives up, or (in many cases) never even gets started.

With some “one anothers” in my life, I just don’t want to.

With others, I’ve tried and given up.  

A horizontal view prompts a zillion reasons (…excuses?) why I cannot and should not. I can easily justify giving myself a pass. Perhaps I even congratulate myself for simply considering the release of love, forgiveness, and honor to a particular person.

But then there’s the vertical perspective. I look up. Focusing my heart and mind on Jesus brings contrition. He loves me in spite of.  He forgives me even if. He honors me no matter.  

He knows everything – all the stuff I’ve thought, said, and done. Even the ugly buried deep, He knows. And He loves, forgives, and honors me anyway.

I am wholly undeserving, and He gives anyway.  

If I hold tenaciously to anger, resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness – and refuse to release love, honor, forgiveness, and compassion – perhaps it says more about my relationship with Jesus than my fractured relationship with my “one another.”  

• Do I trust He is big enough to protect me? 
• Do I trust He will see and provide? 
• Do I believe He is able to help me do what I could never do on my own? 
• Do I believe Him?  
• Is the object of my faith bigger than my what-ifs?  

Clearly, this girl has some praying and pondering to do! How about you?

Our Write the WORD bookmark for March is now available, and in this week’s teaching video, Laura takes a few moments to introduce our next topic. To prepare our hearts for Easter, we’ve chosen the word RIGHTEOUSNESS. We invite you to listen as Laura unpacks truth about righteousness — before the cross and after — and encourage you to download your own copy of our March bookmark as we get ready to read, write, and study what scripture says about righteousness in the coming month.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 

Just because we are believers does not mean we will not hurt each other. In fact, those we are closest to have the greatest capacity for wounding us.  

When a stranger is mean, we can (literally or figuratively) roll our eyes and walk away. But when a “one another” criticizes us, tears and sleepless nights may result. Ice cream could be involved.  

In extreme cases those wounds are deeper than hurt feelings. They can bring life-long consequences. The most horrific of those behaviors cast a shameful eye on the body of Christ. The result can be years of counseling for the victim, and incarceration for the perpetrator when justice must be served.  

You and I may never (I hope) face those extreme circumstances. But we probably will encounter relationship struggles that need more than a quart of Rocky Road to overcome.  

All of us have most likely endured – and may face again – a situation where we are insulted, criticized, misunderstood, unappreciated, overlooked, condemned, maligned, or gossiped about by a fellow believer. It may come from a member of our church, our circle of friends, perhaps even our family.  

When the “one anothers” in our lives behave badly, that’s on them. They are responsible for their behavior.  

But our response to their bad behavior is on us. I am responsible for me. You are responsible for you. And one day, we will all answer to God for every bit of it. 

Are you and I holding onto a hurt … perhaps one that began years ago? Has it rooted itself in deep, growing from a tiny seed to a firmly entrenched plant of bitterness with kudzu-type tenacity?  

• Have you rounded a corner at the grocery store, seen someone at the end of the aisle, and done an oh-I-need-milk U-turn to avoid a face-to-face encounter? 
• Have you stopped going to family reunions when you know certain family members will be there?  
• Do you retrieve that scene from the iCloud storage of your mind and replay it once in a while, just to remind yourself why you’re angry … and why you have the right to that anger? 

Are you being held captive in your own prison of unforgiveness?

Would you consider the possibility that holding onto the hurt, refusing to forgive, may be injuring you more than the one who offended you? 

I heard someone once say, “We tend to judge others by their behavior, but judge ourselves by our intentions.” Might we tend to whitewash our role as we remember, retell, and replay? 

If you’ve made it this far, please accept some learned-the-hard-way counsel from a woman who has lived long enough to make far too many mistakes. I’ve cried and prayed with a lot of women who have been hurt, I have hurt people, and I have been hurt myself.  

Here’s the advice that bubbles up from those experiences: 

• Own your part of it.
  Hurts and fractures in relationships are seldom 100% one person’s fault. Rarely is one party completely blameless. If you are 2% culpable, own that 2%. Seek forgiveness, repent, do whatever necessary to make it right.
• Release forgiveness.
  The only way to be free from this thing in your past – and move forward into your future – is to forgive. Failing to do so robs you of today, and every tomorrow, until you do.

Let it go.   

Choose to let it go.  

Pray you can let it go.      

Allow the Holy Spirit to enable you to begin to forgive. Allow Him to open the door to the prison where you’ve held yourself hostage.  

A few additional thoughts on forgiveness: 

1. It is a choice – not an emotion.  
2. It is an expectation of Christ-followers. 
3. Because I am forgiven, I must choose to forgive. 
4. In the context of God’s forgiveness of us, no call to forgive is too great.  
5. Surely, our refusal to forgive each other breaks the heart of God. We are made in His image; as parents, we know how devastated we are when our children are at odds.  
6. Forgiveness does not mean the behavior was acceptable.  
7. Forgiveness is not reconciliation. (That takes time and work.) 
8. You don’t have to be asked for forgiveness to give it. (In fact, the person you need to forgive may have passed.) 
9. Forgiveness loosens the enemy’s foothold in our lives.  
10. Forgiveness allows us to move forward in our effectiveness for the Kingdom. 

Look back above and re-read Ephesians 4:32. If we are walking in kindness and compassion, forgiveness will be the natural result. I’m praying we all take seriously this call to exercise kindness and compassion.

Who is God calling you – and me – to forgive today?

This week’s Bible study focused on I Corinthians 13. We invite you to watch Friday’s devotional video, in which we attempted to answer these questions:

• What is love?
• Where does it come from?
• What does love do and not do?
• How did Jesus teach us to love?

We pray that, after watching our most recent teaching video, the familiar words of this profound passage are transformed to mean something much greater than you previously thought.

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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?

• While loading the dishwater today, I rinsed a mug she had given me and because it brought her to mind, I prayed, “Lord, bless her today and meet her needs.” 
• I dropped to my knees and prayed for 30 minutes for this hurting woman, asking God to provide for her needs and call her to Himself.  
• I mailed her a card with a scripture verse from my quiet time that seemed perfect for what she is going through. 
• I sent a text saying, “I love you and I’m praying for you today.” 
• I babysat my friend’s children so she and her hubby could have a date night.  
• I grabbed my keys and drove to the city office where I paid my friend’s utility bill. 
• I drove to the local café and picked up two coffees before heading to her house to talk and pray together.  

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: 

• Hate what is evil. 
• Cling to what is good.  
• Be devoted to one another in love. 
• Honor one another above yourselves.  

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!

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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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