Cross My Heart Ministry

More than a few 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 co-workers, our unsaved family members, our neighbors, and even strangers we encounter in our day-to-day lives. 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 is joined by her friend, Maddy Schultz, to discuss Ephesians 4:2 and how important it is to show a Christlike spirit, and what that looks like. They discuss how this can help to create unity in the Body of Christ.

After listening, we invite you to download and print your copy of this month’s bookmark from our Downloads page.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint
.Isaiah 40:30-31

Does today find you tired? Weary? Exhausted?

Working, volunteering, parenting our children, caring for grandkids or elderly parents, paying the bills, mowing the lawn, keeping the laundry caught up, and serving three squares a day – our duties seem endless and our responsibilities relentless.

Self-help books cheer us on. Song lyrics encourage, “I am woman, hear me roar!” We try to stay up late, get up earlier, roll up our sleeves and declare with all the Rosie we can muster, “I can do it!”

How long can we press on in our own strength? What will be the sock that causes the laundry pile to tip over (that’s my version of “the straw that breaks the camel’s back”)?

Another year goes by – they seem to do that faster and faster as we get older – and we realize that the same struggles to get it together and keep it together are still there that were there 3, 5, 7, even 10 years ago.  Will I ever conquer this challenge? Will I ever figure out how to keep going and not get tired and get it all done?

And then we read Isaiah 40:30-31 and we feel…normal. Relieved. Grateful even.

Even young folks get tired. It’s not just this old body!

And I’m reminded – again – to find renewal and strength where I’ve always known it can only be found: by hoping in the LORD.

More than a vacation, a new how-to book, a therapist, or even a bubble bath, what I really need is to put my hope in the Lord.  If I’m looking for renewal in anything – or anyone else – I’m setting myself up for disappointment and failure.

As I lift my eyes heavenward and place my hope on Him, I’m reminded (yet again) that while a clean bathroom, an organized desk, and all the grading caught up are worthy goals and good things, the absolute best and highest goal of my life is to live to please my Lord and to bring Him glory. When He is the source of my strength, I can fly like an eagle because He is the wind that keeps me afloat. I can run and not grow weary, and I can keep walking without fainting, because I am filled with Him. My eyes are on Jesus and not on my earthly challenge. He transforms not only what I do, but my why for doing it!

I pray you are ready to declare today (whether for the first time or the 1000^th):  LORD, MY HOPE IS IN YOU!

Our upcoming May Write the WORD bookmark features verses that all include the phrase, “one another.” Each verse or passage teaches, equips, and challenges us on how to interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As she introduces the bookmark, Laura also offers some teaching from John 13:34-35 – the passage from Day 2 of the May bookmark. We invite you to listen to this week’s Friday teaching video as she reflects on the high bar Jesus set by lowering himself to wash the disciples’ feet.

You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:114

What does God’s Word mean to you? Is it an old book with truth for another era? Is it filled with wisdom that doesn’t seem to apply to the modern age? Do you read and even memorize it, but see no real way to live it?

What does it look like to put our hope in His Word?

We can probably safely say it’s impossible to hope in something you don’t know or understand. While there will always be a mystery about God’s Word, the more we immerse ourselves in it, the more we will understand it and walk in it.

It’s interesting that we use the word Word to describe not only the Bible, but even Jesus Himself. John 1:1 describes Him this way:

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Words are the basis of communication. We even use word to describe communication: “May I have a word with you?” Or, “They had words.”

When God chose to communicate His great love to us, He sent His only Son Jesus to Earth. Jesus came as the Living Word to convey God’s love.

God sent His written Word to us through messages now captured in scripture. These words from God serve to inspire and teach, convict and rebuke, encourage and comfort. To hope in the Word is to hope in Him. If our desire is to know God better, it is essential we become students of the Word.

There’s nothing like difficult circumstances to drive us to the Word. Read Psalm 119:114 again. The Psalmist declares, “You are my refuge and my shield…” Words like refuge and shield suggest the writer has endured challenging circumstances. Hard things tend to drive a believer to his or her knees … and also to the Word.

The older I get, the more I realize that life comes with hard things; in our journey we are either coming out of a challenge, enduring a challenge, or heading into a challenge. The means to not just endure, but grow – to not just survive, but thrive – is to immerse ourselves in His Word. God Himself will speak to our circumstance.

And, if it’s the hard thing that drives us to His Word, then we can learn to even thank God for the challenge … because it brought us closer to Him.

Grabbing hold of the Word is like grabbing a life preserver in the storm. Grabbing hold, living through, and carrying on will find us declaring with the Psalmist:

You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
Psalm 119:114

I pray His Word is your refuge, your shield, and your source of hope this day and every day.

Our local ladies are on break from our Bible study until September, but until the fall, we will continue publishing shorter weekly teaching videos from Laura, inspired by verses from our monthly bookmark. Our April bookmark includes 30 verses which include the word, HOPE. Romans 12:12 is short, but there’s a lot there! We invite you to listen as Laura shares some thoughts on this passage, and then visit our Downloads page to find your copy of our Write the WORD bookmark for April, as well as additional free resources. 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2 

Our Write the WORD verses this month all focus on the word HOPE. (If you haven’t done so yet, please visit this page to download your free bookmark with April’s verses, as well as the optional S.O.A.P. study pages, and start writing the WORD with us each day.)

Hope seemed the perfect theme for the days that follow Easter. The intrinsic nature of hope has us looking into the future, expecting something different, something preferred, something better than the place where we stand today.

For the follower of Christ, our hope is for eternity and it is all wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. Our identity in Him makes our hope not just wishful thinking, but a confident reality.

When Paul sanctions boasting—a verb normally considered “off limits” for a Christ-follower—we are understandably intrigued. Mr. Webster defines boasting as expressing excessive pride … clearly unacceptable if the focus is on self (e.g., boasting about our wealth, status, or personal accomplishments, or boasting in the hope of getting noticed and awarded a big bonus at work).

When our hope extends beyond the temporal and into eternity, we not only hope in the glory of God, but we can boast in it! This kind of boasting is simply bragging on God. And when we brag on God, we shine the spotlight on Him. We make much of Him.

How would you define the glory of God? I recall asking God during my quiet time, What is your glory? I was reminded of Exodus 33:18-23 where Moses asked to see God’s glory. He was only permitted to see God as He passed by:

When my glory passes by,
I will put you in a cleft in the rock and
cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back;
but my face must not be seen.

Our earthly eyes would perhaps be overloaded by the manifestation of His glory. Perhaps that’s part of the reason the fullness of God’s glory is reserved for heaven.

But we also know that God proclaimed in Isaiah 43:7 that He created us for His glory. Our purpose in life is to allow God to be seen through us … to put Him on display.

What words come to mind when you try to describe God? I’ll start a list, and you feel free to add your own adjectives, too:

• Loving
• Powerful
• Compassionate
• Great
• Good
• Strong
• Kind
• Mighty
• Gentle
• Wise
• Holy

Many of those seem almost contradictory, yet they are all true of God. He is the absolute magnificent complete epitome of all those words and many more. The essence of who He is, is who He is. He said about Himself, “I am who I am.” And His glory is seen when all of who He is is on display.

To see His glory is to see Him.

We see little pieces of Him now. When fellow believers walk in the Spirit, we celebrate the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is exhibited—and what we really celebrate is the reflection of God’s glory.

When we ourselves are in alignment with Him and have that sense of living to please Him, we bring Him glory and it brings a satisfaction that nothing else in this world can deliver. It’s what we were made for. It’s our spiritual sweet spot.

We get a little piece of it now. We are all like Moses just getting a glimpse as God is seen here and there, but what we really hope for—and boast in—is the glory of God. That’s what heaven will be.

Are you bragging today on God and the confident hope in seeing His glory?

Our in-person ladies’ Bible study wrapped up our time in Galatians this week. Galatians 6:11 tells us Paul took the pen in his own hand and wrote with big letters. Whether due to poor eyesight, emphasis, making it personal—or all of the above—the Gospel message is clear to the end. We invite you to listen to this week’s teaching video as Laura does a “fly over” to review some of the BIG lessons learned from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

The moment we begin a relationship with Jesus, we have HOPE. Hope for eternity on that day. But also hope for peace and joy and a life that matters on this day (which is a particularly poignant and appropriate observation today, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior).

Hope keeps us afloat. Because of hope, we can proclaim with Habakkuk:  “… he  enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19

We need not live under the pile, the hill, or the mountain. Whatever challenge today brings, we can walk over it.

Having HIM means we have hope. That never changes. That reality is sure. Our position in Christ is permanent.

But what does change is ourselves. We change through the events and circumstances that ebb and flow into the currents of life. We grow in Him. Hope bolsters our faith. Our faith is proven real. And through the squalls and storms of life, we are transformed to be more like Jesus, our source of hope. We become more acutely aware of what John Newton said so well, “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

The ever-increasing awareness of our own wretchedness makes it even more astonishing and amazing that He would want us. But He does want us. He wants us enough to die for us.

Jesus chose the cross because He loved us.  And He loves us still.

Think about your absolute worst moment. Your most shameful response. We all have those situations that we would love to delete from our memory banks—those events that just thinking about make our faces burn with shame, as we look around hoping no one can read our minds or our faces.

Jesus knows every one of those. He knows. And He still loves us.

Why?

Some of those aren’t just bad memories from the past. They are very much ongoing challenges in the present. We commit, I’ll never say that again … then out it comes from our mouth! We proclaim, I’ll never do that again … and find ourselves spiraling right back to the same behavior. We feel like a failure. We are filled with disappointment and shame, because that’s what sin brings. But Jesus didn’t die for a perfect person. He died for sinners like you and me:

 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

He died for us and He loves us, warts, messes, and all. His is an honest love—He knows exactly who we are and who we are not—and He still loves us. He still died for us. And that, my friends, brings a blessed hope that nothing else in this world can make good on.

The hope you and I have is all because of who HE IS rather than who we are (and who we are not). Only a GREAT God and a GOOD God could love one so undeserving.

It is grace … grace on steroids! Grace amplified and demonstrated in power and love.

Because of that awareness, we have hope, and it prompts grateful praise. We are moved to praise Him more and more and more. Our praise expands. It deepens and widens. It becomes interspersed into our day to day. Not just a piece of our launch-the-day quiet time, but a song on our tongue, a thought-life devoted to continual prayer, and a transformation of our attitude.

I find myself switching from my favorite oldies station to Christian praise music—not from guilt or obligation, but because I want to. My delight is to praise the one who fills my mind and heart with hope.

Wonder and joy and peace and PRAISE are injected into my daily chaos. My list is still long, the urgent tasks still call, the undone list seems to mock me, but my heart is hopeful. Hymns spring forth from my tongue—naturally, almost unconsciously, and joyfully.

Praise in the midst of jumping through hoops and spinning plates? It can only be because of Jesus. My hope in Him prompts praise. How can it not?

Will you join with me in praising Him more and more … allowing hope to prompt praise in your life?

Thank you, Lord. This day, this moment, I’m choosing to praise You because of the hope you have provided!

As our weekly Bible study group comes to the end of the book of Galatians, we find that Paul offers some very practical ways for us to live out the Gospel in our relationships with others. We invite you to listen as Laura unpacks these assignments:

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13

When we read “I can do this,” it may bring up an image of Rosie the Riveter — jaw set, muscle flexed, and polka-dot scarf secure. The tough Rosie of the 40’s may well be the foremother of Helen “I am woman, hear me roar” Reddy in the 70’s … and all these generations later, we may try to sing the song and flex the muscle (and surely that red scarf is here somewhere!), but the reality can be less than rosy. Pun intended.

Our song may be more like: I am woman, I am tired.  

Philippians 4:13 is often quoted (also framed on our walls, posted on our social media, and written in our greeting cards). But is the truth of it written on our hearts?  

Rather than a proclamation of strength and self-sufficiency, it’s a confession of our weakness. Taken to heart, it’s a humble declaration of our dependency on Christ.  

Just before this oft-quoted verse, Paul wrote: 

I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want.
Philippians 4:12

Paul was explaining the secret — the key — to finding contentment no matter what the circumstances. I’m encouraged to note that he uses the word learned. Even if we haven’t yet achieved contentment, we can learn it. We can aspire and grow into it.  

And according to Paul it has nothing to do with our physical situation: want or plenty, well fed or hungry … and we might add employed or unemployed, malignant or benign, celebrating or grieving.  

We can fill in our own 21st-century “whether” but the message is the same: our circumstances do not dictate our reality, nor do they make us content. It is the One who is with us in those circumstances that determines our level of contentment.

Hard things will come and go in this life. Some the result of our sinful choices, some the result of the sin of others, and still others are simply the result of living in a fallen world.  

But none can touch our security in Jesus Christ.  

He is our life preserver in the storm. He keeps us afloat. He is our strength in any and every situation. Yes, my friend, we can do this — we can keep working, keep giving, keep serving, keep forgiving, keep hoping, and keep on keeping on.  

But not because we have the power on our own. It’s all because we have the power through HIM who gives us strength! 

Have you got trouble? Life in this world tells us if we don’t now, we will! It’s not pessimistic — just realistic. Life in this world will bring us trouble.

All this month, we are exploring verses that equip us in responding to trouble. In this week’s devotional video, Laura reflected on a good go-to passage to cling to in trouble or share with a friend who is enduring hardship. In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul has some advice for a time of trouble:

– Don’t be anxious
– Do give it to God
– Do be thankful for it

That last one is not only difficult, but counterintuitive! We encourage you to listen as Laura reflects on this powerful passage, and then consider sharing it with a friend going through hard things. We pray the insight Paul offers will be hidden in your heart and available to you, allowing you to share it when needed or claim it for yourself.

But I will sing of Your strength;
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 59:16 

We all struggle with feeling like doing something versus choosing to do it. Because we are saved by grace — and because our eternal destiny is based exclusively on the completed work of Christ, not our own — we can easily give ourselves a pass on “I will” and instead wait for “I feel like” before we act.  

The engagement of an I will marks us as women of God. I will means that because my identity is in Him, I choose to lean in … to press in ... to work out the salvation He has provided.  

Here in Psalm 59, David’s use of “I will” conveys a deliberate choice. Let’s join with David and choose to do likewise.  

David’s I will is a choice to worship. And it’s also a choice to worship at a specific time: morning. Morning worship is a statement of priority. It adopts a first–things–first attitude that declares, “Worship is the priority of my day.” It’s a tithing of our time, if you will. 

And worshiping first also means it ripples out to impact everything else that happens in the course of the day.  

Worshiping first renews us for the day. Yesterday morning’s worship sustained us for yesterday, but today is a new day. The little irritations, the nagging annoyances, the distractions and frustrations of the day push us out of alignment. Our morning worship is a daily realignment.  

Fear and anxiety are typical symptoms of a day with trouble. The degree of the trouble is measured by the depth of our anxiety. Worship is the antidote. We may have no control over the trouble, but we can rein in our response to it.  

Worship is the best preparation for trouble, and the best defense when trouble comes.  

David’s worship included singing. The lyrics he chose showcased the character of God: 

I will sing of your strength,
I will sing of your love.

Over and over again in Scripture, I continue to see confirmation of the overriding character traits of our God — He is GREAT (strong) and He is GOOD (loving).  

If He were only loving, but not strong, he would be powerless to protect and provide for us. Because he is strong, He can help. And because He is loving, He wants to.  

As our worship draws us to celebrate God’s goodness and His greatness, His strength and His love, we renew our trust in His provision. Our worship keeps us safe in the fortress of His protection.  

Like many of us, you may look around at the world and feel there has been no season when we needed the fortress of God more. We are living in times of trouble. We may not feel like singing, but as women of we can choose to sing. Today, we can declare with David:

I will sing of your strength,
I will sing of your love.

And then let’s do it again tomorrow morning.  

We were so pleased to have guest lecturer Stacey Broyles at our women’s Bible study this week! Please listen as Stacey shares a powerful passage on the Fruit of the Spirit and practical applications for walking it out: