Cross My Heart Ministry

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”

Hebrews 11:7

Noah acted on his holy fear when he built the ark.  This holy fear propelled him to act on his faith.  There is a huge difference between fear and holy fear.  Holy fear comes with faith, but plain old worldly fear is the opposite of faith.  Holy fear is prompted by reverence and respect for God.  It is our faith lived out.

I don’t think Noah was alone when he built the ark.  His audience included those described as corrupt and full of violence. (Genesis 6:12)  It is also likely that the corruption and violence in their hearts flooded out of their mouths in the form of mocking, derision, and goading of Noah.

It is indeed a challenge to obey God, but perhaps especially when we are being mocked for holding fast to our beliefs.

Which do you think was the greatest challenge for Noah to overcome to obey God:

• Doubt that it would really rain?
• Pride – what are people thinking?
• Embarrassment and shame as he was taunted and made fun of?

I believe Noah kept his hands busy and his mouth shut.  He condemned his mockers, but it wasn’t with his words.  Hebrews 11:7 says it was his FAITH that condemned the world.  And because of Noah’s active, believing faith he was rewarded.  He became an heir to righteousness.

God asked Him to do something that really made no logical sense.  He was to build a boat to prepare for a catastrophe that the world had never seen.  Is it easier to obey God when He asks us to do something that makes logical sense, something that doesn’t bring shame or embarrassment, something that doesn’t make me stand out?

For the woman of God, holy fear trumps worldly fear…every time.

“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
Genesis 6:22

Do you enjoy reading the manual when you get a new gadget…or do you just jump right in and start tinkering and try to figure it out on your own?

When God decided to destroy the world, He extended grace towards Noah, as He provided very specific instructions for crafting an ark.  Lots of details were provided – the type of wood, the size for length, width, and height, and the number of floors.

We, too, have been given very specific instructions for life:  our manual is called the Bible. Often we make our situation much more difficult, challenging, uncomfortable, and exhausting by our refusal to follow God’s instructions.

We applaud Noah because of his obedience to God – verse 22 records that he did everything just as God commanded.

This is even more remarkable when we read Genesis 2:5-6 and realize it had never rained before! Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family …”

It required FAITH to build the ark.  Faith is believing God.  Faith is confidence in a future truth.  Real faith results in action.  Actions do not bring about our salvation, but actions prove our salvation is real.

Is your faith in Jesus Christ?  Do you believe He is the Son of God?  Do you believe He came to earth in bodily form, was crucified, and had victory over death – rising on the third day?  Do you believe He will return to earth?  Do you believe your only hope for eternity is to have a faith that believes in Him and puts your hope in Him?

The woman of God lives an active faith by obeying God’s instructions.

(Note — Topic for tomorrow:  Holy Fear)

“Enoch walked with God…”
Genesis 5:24a

After the birth of Seth at the end of Genesis 4, Genesis 5 provides the lineage from Seth to Noah.  Essentially, we learn that each man lived, gave birth to a son, and died – the briefest of information about each man’s life.

Have you ever walked through a cemetery, looked at names and dates, and wondered about the people, their lives, what they looked like, how they lived, who they loved, and who loved them?  The dash between the date of birth and the date of death represents a lot of living.

In Genesis 5, most of Seth’s family –including himself – did nothing of noteworthy value other than have a son to carry on the family name.  But we do know that each must have taught the next generation about God.

We know because when we finally get down to Enoch in verse 22, we learn that Enoch walked with God.  In order to walk with God, Enoch had to KNOW God.  He must have learned from the generation before Him.

Though there is no evidence that his father, grandfather, or great grandfather –all the way back to Seth – actually walked with God, each father must have taught his son about God.

As mothers and grandmothers – are we walking with God and teaching our children to do so?  Are we settling for just telling them about God…or even just bringing them to church and trusting that other adults will tell them about Jesus?  It is our JOB to teach our children.  Perhaps we do that best when we don’t just TELL them, but MODEL it for them.

To walk with God requires action.  WALK is a verb – it can encompass an attitude of the heart, but I believe it also means we are found walking through the Word, walking in prayer, walking in loving acts of service to others.  Dr. James Dobson has said values are more “caught” than “taught”.  What are your children – or your friends, family and neighbors – learning from watching your walk?

The woman of God walks with God.

“Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’ Seth also had a son, and he named his Enosh.
At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.”
Genesis 4:25-26

As the events of Genesis 4 drew to a close, perhaps Satan thought it was time to party – Abel is gone and he has Cain in his camp. The only living descendants of Adam have no need for God.

Does Satan really think he can snuff out God’s Genesis 3:15 promise?

In verse 25 – hope is restored, as Eve gives birth to a third son.  Seth means “granted” or another definition reads:  “to set, station, appoint.”  Seth is indeed the one appointed for the line through which Christ would come into the world.  The genealogy of Jesus found in Luke 3 includes Seth’s name.

We also see Eve’s acknowledgment of God’s gift of this third son: “God has granted me another child…”

And we see a huge contrast with Seth’s legacy compared to that of Cain.  Verse 26 reveals, “At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.”

Where in your life and where in my life do we need God’s help?  What are we trying to do by muscle that can really only be done by God’s might?

Is it time to stop striving, stop doing…cease the fretting and hand wringing. — time to let go… and let God?

The woman of God calls on the name of the LORD.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;
it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7

Why was Cain angry?  Because he had been found out.  He had failed to deliver the required sacrifice. God could have doled out immediate consequences, but instead He lovingly confronts Cain – gives him an opportunity to repent and change course.

Let’s re-read the sober warning from the passage above:  … if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you…

It is God’s kindness and love that intercedes to warn us, to call us back.

God did not force Cain to obey –just as He didn’t force Cain’s parents to obey.  He permits Cain to choose to obey…or not.

Cain is in the driver’s seat.  The light changes to “yellow” – God’s words to him are a WARNING light.  Does he hit the brakes …. or push down hard on the accelerator and run on through?

You and I also have the benefit of a warning light from God.  As women of God, we have the illumination of the Holy Spirit and the light of His Word.  He shines the light on our path, revealing the danger.  Do we listen and heed His “heads up?”

Even in the midst of heading in the wrong direction, there is time to hit the brakes and make a u-turn.  God will show us the exit ramp – the “way of escape:”

 …when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out
so that you can endure it.
I Corinthians 10:13

 God loves us too much to leave us in our sin. Even in the midst of veering off course, He calls us back.

The woman of God heeds the Holy Spirit’s warning.

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Genesis 4:3-5
(emphasis added)

 Did Cain just bring his leftovers to God?  Did he harvest his crop and keep the best for himself – and then present the gnarly, under-developed, deformed looking vegetables to God?

The Scripture says Abel brought some of the FIRSTBORN to God.  It is indeed a much greater sacrifice to give to God FIRST – because it requires faith and trust that there will be a 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th to come.

When we write out our tithe check FIRST, we are trusting there will be enough money left to pay the electric bill, the house payment and buy groceries the last week of the month.  Financial planners tell you to pay yourself first.  Make your savings deposit first if you want to build up wealth, but God says in Malachi 3:10,

 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

God doesn’t NEED our money – He wants to bless us by giving us opportunity to depend on Him, to demonstrate our faith in Him.

The “first” principle applies not only to our money, but to our time and our talent, as well.  It is a greater sacrifice to do my quiet time first – it requires trusting that everything else on my To Do list for the day will be accomplished.

And I have found it to be true over and over — as I use my gifts to serve Him, He rolls back blessing to me.

The additional benefit of giving to God FIRST is that my attitude is transformed in how I spend the other 90% of my resources and the other 23-23 ½ hours of my day.  I’m less selfish, more God-focused.  My time, talent, and treasure are all spent in ways that honor the God I love and bring Him glory.  I’m less likely to make it all about me when I give to Him FIRST.  Giving to Him first gets “Laura” out of the way and allows the Holy Spirit to lead out as I spend my time, treasure, and talent.

Perhaps for you it’s not the giving first that is the problem, but just the quantity of the giving.  I encourage you to start where you are.  If it’s money, you can use 10% as a guide – but we must remember that it’s all His.  He gave us the job, the ability to do the job, the education required to qualify for the job.  10% sounds like a whole bunch – when we are writing a check.  But let me ask you this:  if our favorite department store advertises a big 10% off sale, do we dash off to the mall?  Probably not.  We yawn at a 10% off coupon– which means 10% is not really a very big deal. It’s all about perspective.

Let’s accept the challenge to ask God to stir up our hearts to not only give to Him, but to give to Him first.  Let’s ask Him for the faith to believe it is really possible.

The Woman of God gives to God FIRST – with her time, her treasure, and her talent.

Whether it was the lack of blood sacrifice or the lack of giving to God first, Abel’s sacrifice found favor with God while Cain’s did not.

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”
Genesis 4:3-5

As a young girl, I remember reading this account and thinking it a bit unfair.  If Cain raised crops, why wouldn’t it be ok for him to present crops for his offering?

Now that I’m older, I’m convinced that if a blood sacrifice was required, God would have made that clear.  Perhaps Cain could have traded his choice garden produce to Abel for an animal sacrifice.  God knew Cain’s heart.

God had already set the example that a blood sacrifice was required for the covering of sin.  When Adam and Eve sinned, an animal was killed so that skins could be used to cover them.

The Old Testament sacrificial system would cover sin committed and then a new sacrifice would be required as more sin was committed.  It was a continual process.

What a joy for those who carried the burden of sin from sacrifice to sacrifice to get “clean,” to discover Jesus.  As the perfect sacrificial lamb, He became the once and for all sacrifice.  Hebrews 10:10 says, “…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

We are now exempt from the continual cycle of sacrifice to receive forgiveness.  Our sins are not only covered – they are washed clean away by the blood of the lamb of God.

The Woman of God has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

The challenge now is to go live like it.

She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”
Genesis 4:1

After the fall of man (and woman) in Genesis 3 and the consequences that followed, we are left with questions such as:

• What happened to Adam & Eve?
• Did they forget about God as they were sent out from the garden?
• Did they have to work so hard to survive that there was no time for God?
• Were they consumed with bitterness and anger towards God– as so many are today when life brings difficult circumstances?

 We are given a clue into answers to some of these questions as we read Eve’s response to the birth of her first son:

With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.  Genesis 4:1

These do not sound like angry or resentful words – but words that acknowledge God’s provision, words of gratefulness.  Perhaps she is even thinking this child will be the fulfillment of the Genesis 3:15 promise.

Do you and I acknowledge God’s provision in our lives? Are we grateful for all He has given?

Psalm 16:2 reminds us, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

What “good thing” have we failed to thank God for today? In what area have we neglected to acknowledge His provision?

If God chose to take away everything we had not thanked him for – I wonder how many of us would lose a spouse or a child…would we have to walk home today?  Would our house be there when we got home? Would we find our mattress or refrigerator missing?  Would we have shoes, Tylenol, or peanut butter in the pantry?  How about friends, Sunday School teachers, and mentors?

We need to be thankful.  We need to pray that God would give our children thankful hearts. We need to model that for them.

We can practice thankfulness by redeeming our thought life – as we load the dishwasher, run errands, or fold laundry, the time can be redeemed with prayers of thankfulness.

Ask your children or grandchildren to pray thank you prayers tonight as you put them to bed.

As we cultivate a thankful heart, we simultaneously acknowledge God as the giver of all good things.

Have you thanked God today?

The woman of God gratefully acknowledges God’s provision in her life.