Cross My Heart Ministry

Very early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed.
Mark 1:35

If Jesus Christ our Lord, the holy and perfect son of God, made prayer a continual priority while He was in human form on this earth, then surely you and I need to do likewise.

Following the example of Jesus in this passage, we note that:

1. Prayer is a priority. Jesus did this first.
2. Jesus had to get up early to find time to pray. (And lest you think an early morning only happens with an early bedtime and calm day before, back up a few verses to read about the “day before” for Jesus.)
3. Prayer is personal. There are many examples of Jesus praying with His disciples and praying in public, but His first-prayer-of-the-morning was in private. He got off alone to avoid the distractions.

We talk about prayer. When we hear troubling news from a friend, we respond, “I’ll pray for you.” We would raise our hands and vote for prayer if there were a prayer election. But I ask you this deeply personal and soul-searching question: Do we really pray?

Is prayer a proverbial Hail Mary that we throw up as we dash from place to place? Is it a mutter under our breath … or perhaps just a good intention that never becomes reality?

In our Write the Word this month, we are doing something just a bit different in honor of the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 5th, which was instituted in 1952 when President Harry Truman signed into law a joint resolution of Congress. On this day, once per year, citizens of our nation gather together and pray. This year is particularly poignant because many of us were denied the opportunity to gather on this day in 2020 and 2021.

For the follower of Christ, however, prayer should be more than an annual event. It should be a daily, continual priority. Prayer is vital for our survival.

When we are “prayed up” in advance, we have peace before the challenge. The football team really wins Friday night’s game during the grueling practice and preparation on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Likewise, as Christ-followers, we prepare best for surgery, family reunions, difficult meetings, parenting, and every other challenge life brings by praying in advance.

Oswald Chambers (one of the folks I’m most looking forward to meeting in heaven) said it well:

Prayer does not fit us for the greater works;
prayer is the greater work.

Whether prayer is already a priority for you, or you find your heart stirred to begin making it so, I pray this month’s Write the Word will inspire and equip you to learn from those whose prayers are recorded in the Bible.

Rather than only 1-2 daily verses, this month I’ve selected a daily passage that highlights a specific prayer in the Bible. After reading the passage, please choose a verse or phrase to write in your journal. Then allow it to prompt prayer to God.

I would like to invite you to post your thoughts (and your prayers) below. We would love to pray for you. And if your request is too personal for public posting, please email me directly.

Are you ready to be like Jesus –
to get up, get alone, and get praying?

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura took the opportunity to introduce this month’s Write the WORD topic by unpacking Mark 1:35-39, which tells about Jesus getting up early to be alone with His Father.

The May bookmark is a bit different than usual. Each day of the month will feature a different prayer found in the Bible. Rather than write the entire passage, we encourage you to read the prayer and then choose a verse (or verses) from the prayer that speaks to you, and write that in your journal. Both our Sunday Soaking posts and the Friday teaching videos will each highlight one of the prayers from the bookmark.

If you have not yet downloaded the May Write The WORD bookmark or the optional S.O.A.P. study pages, we hope you’ll visit our Downloads page and get your copy today!

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.
Psalm 119:148

Insomnia.

We’ve all struggled at one time or another with a sleepless night or two. Too much caffeine, too much noise from the neighbors, or a too-long to do list. The reasons are many.  Sometimes there is no reason.

We can make ourselves do many things: get up every morning, cook dinner, grade math, pay bills, do laundry. But we can’t make ourselves sleep—in fact, the very process of trying to force sleep can produce adrenaline that does just the opposite—and difficulty sleeping is not unusual. According to the American Sleep Association, “Insomnia is the most common specific sleep disorder, with short term issues reported by about 30% of adults and chronic insomnia by 10%.”

Insomnia used to bring frustration. Rather than wasting time trying to sleep, I would hurl myself out of bed and balance the checkbook, grade some papers, or clean a bathroom. No point squandering awake time. (Type A much?)

But as I’ve grown older—and, hopefully, a skosh a wiser—I’ve learned to just embrace the awake time with peace and prayer. The stillness and darkness of the night coupled with the absence of sound and visual images, means my heart can be more attuned to my Lord.

I begin with praise. I regale His character traits. You are El Shaddai, God Almighty … all powerful, unchanging, strong, capable, solid, forceful, you are the boss! You are El Roi, God who sees me. You see everything that is happening in my life. You are Immanuel, God with us.  You are not just the God of “up there” but the God of “down here.” Because you have walked this earth in human form, you know how this feels.

I remember God’s promises and remind Him (and myself) of each as they come to mind:

• You promised to be with me always. (Matthew 28:20)
• You came to give abundant life. (John 10:10)
• You promised to equip me to do what you call me to do. (I Thessalonians 5:24)
• You promised to provide the harvest if I don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9)
• You promised to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I can ask or imagine—and I have a big imagination! (Ephesians 3:20)
• You promised to trade with me – my worry for Your peace. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Sometimes, I ask Him, “Who should I pray for, Jesus?” Often, of course, that means praying down the list of my precious ones: my hubby, the children, their spouses, my three beautiful GRANDdaughters. Then my mind wanders in freedom. In the darkness, I’m not limited by a church prayer list or a bullet list from an email. I can pray as the Lord leads. We are in tandem; He leads, I follow. It’s precious and peaceful, an unhindered and unbridled approach to prayer.

My eyes may be open, but my heart is praying.

In this week’s video devotional is the last in our series from II Kings. What a rich, yet challenging, study it has been! We hope you’ll enjoy these final words from Laura.

Have you missed any of the weekly videos in the II Kings series? You can find the entire playlist HERE. And if you have not yet subscribed to our YouTube channel, we would be honored if you’d do so! It’s free for anyone with a Gmail account, and a great way to show your support for the ministry of Cross My Heart.

Watch this week for the newest Write the WORD bookmark
& S.O.A.P. study pages. Our May focus: PRAYER.

God created a beautiful garden for the crown of His creation—man, created in God’s own image, and his wife, a helpmate suitable for the man.

He gave them complete freedom:  You are free to eat from any tree in the garden… [Genesis 2:16]

He gave them only one rule to keep: …but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. [Genesis 2:17]

Only one rule to keep and so much good to enjoy. And yet, they couldn’t do it.

I was around seven when I lost a tooth and my PaPa Charlie told me, “If you can keep from poking your tongue in the hole, a gold tooth will grow in where you lost that one.” My eyes grew big … but less than ten minutes later I had forfeited my college nest egg.

He grinned and said, “You couldn’t do it, could you?”

Red-faced, embarrassed, I shook my head no.

And that’s what sin also does: it leaves us shamed and robs us of something good. It often sends us into hiding.

Adam and Eve only made it a single chapter before breaking that one rule. When God confronted them, they followed their shame game with the blame game: Adam blamed Eve (that woman) and even God (that woman YOU gave me), and Eve blamed the serpent.

The human tendency to blame someone else and refuse to take personal responsibility has made many lawyers fat and many souls lean.

How’s your soul? When the Holy Spirit convicts, do you play the blame game? Does today find you lugging around the heavy burden of shame? Are you growing weary of hiding it, stuffing it, and trying to contain it?

Sin has a way of stripping us of our identity, our freedom, our dignity. Sin robs us of our future. It marginalizes our present. It brings disgrace from our past. No fig leaf can cover all that.

We work hard to keep anyone from knowing … but God knows. And He chose to do something about it:

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

He provided—and still continues to provide—for us in the person of Jesus. He also provided for Adam and Eve following that first sin:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Genesis 3:21

He gave them animal skin clothes to cover their nakedness. A living thing had to die to cover the shame brought by their sin.

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was bloody. And it was unending because sin was unending. Sin continued, so sacrifice to cover sin was required. Reading through Leviticus—all the rules and regulations for what to kill and how to kill it and what to do with the blood after—brings a touch of distaste, a bit of confusion, perhaps (if we’re honest) even boredom, but it surely should prompt gratitude that we live this side of the cross.

We couldn’t keep the one rule. We can’t keep God’s Top Ten. But thankfully, because of Jesus, the Old Testament sacrificial system has ended. He became the “once and for all sacrifice” for each one of us. Our identity in Christ means we get what He has (righteousness) and He took what we have (sin).

What a trade.

What a Savior.

Today, as we ponder Christ’s great sacrifice and His forever triumph over sin, aren’t you grateful that getting right with God doesn’t require going to the market?

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday,
my prayer is that you have come to know and love the One
whose sacrifice has saved us, once and for all,
from the eternal consequences of sin.

He is risen.

He is risen, indeed.

In this week’s devotional video, Laura reflected on the high price Jesus paid for our salvation. We invite you to consider these thoughts today, as we celebrate His resurrection.

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!”
John 12:13

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week—Super Bowl week, if you will, for followers of Christ. The week we celebrate the ultimate victory: life over death! Love wins out!

Our English word Hosanna came over from the original Greek word in the New Testament, Hosanna. And that Greek word came from an original Hebrew phrase, Hoshiya na.  The original Hebrew meaning was Save! or Save, please! But through the years the meaning has shifted to mean, Salvation has come!

As the crowd welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, they praised Him as their Savior and acknowledged Him as the King of Israel. Every word they uttered was true, but they attached their own connotation. Their expectation of a Messiah and King fell short of what Jesus delivered. Their hope was not big enough, their adoration not high enough: they hoped only for an earthly king and a hero to conquer Rome, but Jesus was an eternal king who came to conquer death.

John gave them a heads up in John 1:29 —

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

His words should have stirred their hearts and minds to think of Passover and to recognize Jesus as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for the sin of the world.

As followers of Christ, familiarity with this truth can blind us to its magnificence, but I hope you will take some time this week to marvel. Ponder the awesome truth that God became man, took the penalty we deserved by dying a sinner’s death, and then supernaturally came back to life.

Take some time to thank Jesus for loving you like no one else ever has or ever will. He knows everything about you. He knows you better than your mom or dad, your spouse, and your best friend. All that junk you would like to hide, erase, or forget about … He knows it and He still loves you. And He died for you, mess and all.

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

Acknowledge your gratitude that He cared enough to “cut in.”

He loves you. He died for you.

When Judgement Day comes, Jesus will be the judge of all:

Moreover, the Father judges no one,
 but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.
John 5:22 (NIV)

As those who have placed our faith in Him, we can come to that day with confidence, rather than fear. All will bow to Him, but we will bow to Him as our Savior rather than our judge. Our identity in Him means we are clothed in His righteousness, rather than the filthy rags of our own sin.

Because of the gospel, we have hope for eternity on that day, and we can live in peace and joy on this day.

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

As we celebrate Easter, we rejoice in serving a risen Savior.

As we look to the future, we rest in our confident hope for eternity.

If you follow along with our monthly Write the Word series, we have chosen to focus on LAMB verses during April. My prayer is that dwelling on these verses has filled  your heart and mind with hope because of Jesus—the Lamb of God and the risen Savior.

Hosanna! Thank you, Jesus! Salvation has come!

This week’s Bible study found us in II Kings, chapter 20-22. We hope you’ll be encouraged to hear Laura teach about the growth and transformation of King Hezekiah!

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month
each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…

Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,
when all the members of the community of Israel
must slaughter them at twilight.
Then they are to take some of the blood
and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses
where they eat the lambs…

On that same night I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals,
and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.
I am the LORD.
 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are,
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Exodus 12:3, 6-7, 12-13

The book of Exodus chronicles the story of God freeing His people from bondage in Egypt. But it’s a narrative that tells a larger story—one that resonates for all of us, for all time.

Egypt represents sin and bondage. We are all held captive by our own sin … all in “Egypt” in one way or another: pride, selfishness, anger, lust, greed, idolatry, adultery, gossip, hatred, lying, stealing, cheating, gluttony, ad infinitum.  The list is endless, and no amount of striving, working, getting up early, staying up late, reading a new book, or finding the right therapist can release us from the grip of sin.

Sin owns us. But God wants to free us.

Freedom for the Israelites came on Passover night. Exodus 12 instructed each family to take a lamb, then to take care of it. They were to bring it into their home. The family would get to know it as they loved it, fed it, cared for it—and when it came time to slit the throat of that animal and smear its blood over the door frame, it would be difficult. The lamb was real. It was known. The act of taking its life would be very personal … exponentially more difficult than going to the marketplace and purchasing an unknown lamb.

God’s instructions were clear: The blood must be there on Passover night for that family to be protected when the angel of the Lord would pass over.

By an act of faith, the Israelites believed God.

By an act of faith, the Israelites painted their doorframes red with the blood of their beloved lamb.

Their faith resulted in their salvation; they were set free from bondage. Their exodus to freedom is recorded in Exodus 12:51.

The Old Testament sacrificial system required something to die for someone to live. Hebrews 9:22 confirms, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness…”

Sin must be atoned.

Death would bring life.

Sobering thoughts, but as we prepare our hearts for Easter, we must reflect solemnly on our sin, so we can celebrate the One who died to save us from it. Jesus, our Passover Lamb, freed us from ourselves.

Is His blood painted over the door of your heart?

When judgment day comes, will the angel of the Lord pass over you—not because your list has been fixed by you, but because Jesus blotted it out by his blood?

I’m praying that thoughts of our Passover Lamb prompt sobering thoughts and transforming conversations for you and your family, as you prepare your hearts for Easter this year.

This week, the II Kings Bible study focuses on King Hezekiah, one of the final kings—and one of the few good kings—of the southern kingdom of Judah. We invite you to watch today as Laura shares three important lessons we can learn from the life of Hezekiah.