Cross My Heart Ministry

“I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
Psalm 4:8

Was David declaring these words through clenched teeth?

Was he singing these words with a happy heart?

Was David giving thanks from a place of serenity and calm … and was that calm the eye of a storm while the proverbial tornado swirled around him?

The longer I live, the more convinced I become that choosing to dwell with God – choosing, as a friend recently said to me, to be on the side of the fence with Jesus – is what matters. The battle may be real. Circumstances may be hard. Life may feel unfair. People may be mean. The culture may be crazy. All these may be what you and I see as we look around. But hear me on this: none of it has to penetrate our personal reality.

Circumstances do not get to define who we are. The Cross did that – and still does that.

We may look around and feel fearful, frightened, unsafe, and anything but peaceful. But when we look up, we find our due north – we see Him. And He provides the spiritual equilibrium we need.

As women of God, our identity is wrapped up in Jesus. Unhappy circumstances need not rob us of peace and joy.

God is sovereign over events in our world. He is above the culture, above the hurt and pain and struggles in this world. Whether He causes it or allows it, He is aware of it and will use it for my good AND HIS GLORY.

I look out and I can easily become frightened or angry. I must shift my focus up – to God. He has not stepped back. He is not unaware. He is not uncaring.

He is working.

Do you believe that? Is it truth only in your head that needs to migrate to your heart? If you are like me, believing it yesterday was for yesterday. Today is a new day to settle that truth anew.

Whether today brings tears or laughter, whether the biopsy is positive or the bank balance is negative, or whether scale is up or down, I am at peace because I know the Prince of Peace. I am safe – not just today, but for eternity. I can rest and revel in His love and provision.

Would you pray the words Psalm 4:8 back to God with me?

As emotions swirl and tears flow, may each of us sleep in peace – knowing that real peace can only be found in You. The world, the culture, and sometimes even our Christian brothers and sisters rob us of peace and safety, but You are unchanging. You are steadfast, faithful. You are God Almighty.

God, transform us in the days and weeks ahead in this new year. Equip us to be women who do not just cry or become angry, who do not complain or criticize others, but who point others to Scripture, to You. I pray our happy times and our hard times always point to You. Holy Spirit, remind us that You are always working.

Thank you for the peace that comes in knowing that even though our circumstances may be anything but peaceful, You are the Prince of Peace. Use these challenges to shore up our faith in You and understanding of how You work in and through them. Be glorified in all this, God. Transform us through whatever comes.

Thank You for the sacred privilege of being Your child. Thank You for the gift of life to come in heaven and life on earth today. Help us to steward our lives and our experiences well. I will choose to rest in Your love and Your peace. You and You only keep me safe. I choose today to dwell in You. Thank You, Jesus, for loving me and keeping me safe—today and forever. Amen.

In this week’s devotional video, Laura discusses Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians and His great gifts to us today:

“But will God really dwell on earth?
The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.
How much less this temple I have built?”
I Kings 8:27

The time leading up to the events in I Kings 8 were busy ones for Solomon. He devoted himself to an ambitious construction project: a temple for our great God. It was a seven-year project and the details for the building and its furnishings can be found in I Kings 6 and 7.

By human standards, it was stunning! Magnificent! Spectacular!  No detail was overlooked, and no expense spared.

Solomon could be labeled an overachiever; the temple to Israel’s God would outshine any other built for any other false god in any other nation. As he oversaw the planning and construction, he must have been pleased, even proud, as he looked around and compared the temple he had built to those of other nations.

Until the day of dedication. That’s the day he looked up. That’s the day he realized the inadequacy of his temple—of any structure created by any man or king—to host the God of the universe.

And that’s the day he asked, “Will God really dwell on earth?”

Have you ever asked that question? Have you considered its significance?

We’ve just celebrated the coming of God to dwell on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Emmanuel. God with us.

Our mighty God has condescended to dwell on earth! He is not just the God of up there … but the God of down here. That truth separates Christianity from every other world religion and every cult. God came to us. God came for us.

Solomon was overcome as he realized the smallness of his temple when compared to the greatness of God.

As Christians living post-resurrection, we know our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Like Solomon, we acknowledge our smallness—our inadequacy—when compared to our great God.

Solomon looked up with awestruck wonder and asked, “Will God really dwell on earth?”

And this side of the Cross, we, too can look up and marvel at the truth: God really does dwell in me!

Because of our identity in Christ, His Spirit abides in you and in me. Do we heed His voice? Do we listen for it— and follow His prompts? The life of a believer is refined and transformed as we yield to His will and His way. There is no sweeter or better way to live!

As we read and write verses with the word dwell this month, I pray we are all humbled and grateful, as we marvel anew that God really does dwell in us and chooses to work through us! May we never, ever get over it!

If you are curious about Solomon’s reign as king and the era of I Kings in Israel’s history, we encourage you to check out our video teaching from I Kings. To find the complete playlist on our YouTube channel, click here.

Please also note that Laura will begin a new series of teaching from II Kings this month. Subscribe to our channel to get notifications when each week’s new video posts.

Finally, have you downloaded your copy of the Write the WORD bookmark for January? Visit our Downloads page for this free resources (and others).

In this week’s devotional video, Laura introduces the Write the WORD theme for January and invites you to join us this month as we read, write, and study God’s Word with a focus on verses featuring the word, “dwell.”

“They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt
so that
I might dwell among them.
I am the LORD their God.’
Exodus 29:46

Egypt represents bondage. God heard the cry of the Israelites and delivered them from their slavery. Apart from God, you and I are also living in bondage – slaves to our own sin and our own ways. Like the Israelites so many years ago, we are totally dependent upon God to rescue us … to bring us out of our own “Egypt.”

God’s reason for rescuing the Israelites then is the same reason He rescues us now: so that He can dwell with us.

God wants to dwell with you.

Does that truth resonate? Do you know you are loved by the Creator of the universe? Has your heart been transformed by the realization that He longs to dwell with you? Does this truth permeate your thought life?

Because God is holy, He cannot dwell in sin. The Holy Spirit cannot occupy a heart consumed with sin. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin is atoned for and God dwells in us.

Because of our identity in Jesus Christ, we have been moved from Egypt to the Promised Land, from slavery to freedom. Is that your reality, friend?

Are you living in the land of Promise? Are you living and abiding in Jesus? Are you living with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? If you are dwelling in spiritual freedom, these are the furnishings in your new home. If the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in your heart, these traits should be present and active in your life.

Too often we  live in the Promised Land, looking over our shoulders at Egypt. We gaze upon what we gave up and perhaps even long to go back.

Have we forgotten the slavery and bondage?

Have we forgotten the misery?

Let’s choose to begin 2022 fully present in our new freedom! Let’s choose to dwell with Jesus – to abide in Him, celebrating God’s provision and the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. What better way to begin a new year than by celebrating that God dwells with us? He is our God! He is our Lord! He is our Savior and our Deliverer! Nothing that Egypt offers can come close to what we have in Him!

Our January Write the WORD bookmark and S.O.A.P. Bible study pages are now available – find your free copies on our Downloads page! I hope it spurs you on to focus on what it means to dwell in Him. And since there are two bookmarks on each page, why not pause to ask God who you might invite to join you in writing the Word in January?

In this week’s devotional video, Laura explored lessons about joy, surrender, and worship that we can learn from the Wise Men.

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby …
When they had seen him, they spread the word …
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God
for all the things they had heard and seen…”
Luke 2:16, 17, 20

When the night sky lights up with the glory of heaven and a celestial choir belts out a glorious singing telegram, you don’t just roll over, reposition your head on your pillow/rock, and go back to sleep. These guys got an adrenaline jolt that no 21st-century espresso could rival.  

Good news prompted action for the shepherds. Heart racing, pulse beating, feet moving, they hurried off to find the babe! No sauntering, meandering, or lollygagging for this crew. They wanted to see for themselves what the host of heaven had proclaimed.  

Their search was rewarded—they got to behold the newborn King. And I don’t think they ever got over it.  

Hearing the news prompted action by the shepherds. And seeing the baby brought change. 

These men were never the same again. They were transformed into news-bearing worshipers … all in! Sold out! Relentless, committed, and devoted. We find them sharing and singing, praising and proclaiming, and fulfilling the call on the life of every human ever created: to bring glory to God.  

Have we been fundamentally changed by the birth of Jesus? Are we seeking Him? Do we pursue Him in God’s Word and in prayer? Do we hurry off to meet Him each morning? Do we long for everyone to know this One who has changed everything? Does the birth of Jesus—and the death and resurrection of Jesus—prompt praise and worship from us?  

Our King came to us and for us. Immanuel … God with us. God for us. God loves us! Let’s ask Him to fill our hearts with fresh wonder, glorious amazement, peace, and great joy because of that truth.

As you wrap the last packages, bake a final batch of cookies, and mail your remaining Christmas cards, let each Christmas task be done with joy in your heart and a song of praise on your tongue. Join with me—and the angels and the shepherds—in adding our voices to worship and adore Him: 

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”

That’s something worth singing about! That’s something worth telling about!  

We have peace with God, we’ve been reconciled with God, because of our King Jesus!

Hallelujah! 

This post from Laura was previously published on
AReasonForHomeschool.com

We invite you to enjoy the latest devotional video from Laura:

“I bring you good news of great joy…
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:10, 14
(emphasis added) 

It was a night probably like every other night for the shepherds: quiet, lonely, dark, and cold. They were bottom rung on the social ladder. Sheep were their companions and life’s work, the sky their roof, and perhaps a rock sufficed as a pillow. It was a lonely, rugged, and right down hard way to live.  

Then Gabriel crashed in with a melody of JOY: 

“I bring you good news of great joy…” (Luke 2:10)

The rest of the heavenly choir added a chorus of PEACE: 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men…”
(Luke 2:14)

Two thousand years later, and we humans (regardless of which rung of society we live on) are still longing for peace and joy.  

It’s an eternal truth and timeless desire:  we crave peace and we desire joy.  

Deep inside, we know it’s more than we deserve. We strive for it, reach for it, and pedal hard to attain it. But it’s elusive, fleeting, difficult to get, and almost impossible to keep. That is, when we try to do it on our own.  

And that’s really the point.

The whole message of Christmas and the reason Christ came: We can’t do it on our own! God never intended for us to achieve the peace and joy we desire through our own efforts or merit.  

In coming to earth … coming to us … coming to love us and forgive us, God did for us what we can never ever do for ourselves: He brought us peace and joy. God did it all! He brought glory to Himself as He simultaneously brought peace to us.  

Does Christmas find you feeling like you are not enough – feeling empty, joyless, and anything but peaceful, no matter how hard you try, how early you get up, how many cookies you bake or gifts you wrap? If so, then welcome to the human race. And congratulations on having a heart that is ready to receive the peace and joy that can only come from above. It can’t be conjured, manufactured, or produced from inside yourself (or from the monumental efforts you make at Christmas … or any other time of the year).  

This Christmas, let it all go. Let Him have it. In total abandon, acknowledge your “inner shepherd” – lowly, needy, living a hard life and longing for more. Perhaps lonely, lacking, and having little. Definitely craving peace and joy. And finally, in desperation, crying out to Him as the source for what you need.

It truly can only come from Him.  

Every one of us falls into one of two camps: you are God’s child, or you are not His child. Which is it?  

You may be His child. You may have given your life to Him long ago, but behaved as if your salvation was just for that day – the day He comes back for us. But peace and joy is for this day, too! Receive it! Grab hold of it! Remind yourself to embrace what you already believe:

Jesus, I know the truth! I know you set me free from all this performing and doing! Today I’m coming back to renew my relationship with You. I’m here today to acknowledge that what saved me for that day is what brings peace and joy for this day. It’s YOU. Not what I do or bring, but what You have done and what You provide. Fill me with peace and joy – again! I love you! I rejoice that I am your child! 

You may be masquerading as His child. You may be the good girl. The church lady. The one who grew up in church, has served on every committee, delivered countless casseroles, visited the sick, did the VBS crafts, and even went on the youth mission trip. You know you are a good girl, but is your good, good enough? Is it time to finally, once and for all, declare: 

Lord Jesus, I know about You. But I’m ready to know You. If you want my life, then you can have it. I’m finally ready to give it all to you. Nothing held back. I’m weary of working and striving and pretending. I am a sinner. I want to change, but I just can’t do it on my own. I need you. Here’s my life. I am yours.  

Today’s post from Laura was previously published on
AReasonForHomeschool.com

This week, we celebrated the end of the I Kings study with a special event in Siloam Springs, AR. We hope you’ll enjoy this inspiring Christmas message from Gina Franzke, Director of Women’s Ministry at Cross Church in Springdale, AR (sponsor of Laura’s weekly Bible study).