Cross My Heart Ministry

“They were also to stand every morning
to thank and praise the LORD.
They were to do the same in the evening.”
I Chronicles 23:30

I Chronicles 23 lays out the duties for the Levites: 

• Purify the sacred things 
• Tend to the courtyard and side rooms 
• See to the bread for the table, flour for the grain offerings, and the unleavened wafers 
• Baking 
• Mixing 
• Measuring 

At the end of this long list of duties is added the words of verse 30 found above: “stand…thank and praise…”  

Does it seem strange that the spiritual duties are listed along with the physical? Did the Levites show up for Temple Duty 101 training and receive a chore chart with a check list: 

• Thank and Praise 
• Purify 
• Bake 
• Mix 
• Thank and Praise 

Weaving thanks and praise into the daily rhythm made it part of the fabric of their lives. It began to define who they were. Like bookends on the day, it signaled the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.  

Perhaps beginning and ending with thanks and praise meant it began to bleed into what happened in the middle as well. 

Is it possible that Brother Lawrence, the lowly monk of the 17th century who taught us to serve and worship God as we go about our daily task, was inspired by this same passage? Brother Lawrence teaches us: 

“Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love,
they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love,
and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself
into the consciousness of God’s presence.
Yet it might be so simple.
Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business
wholly for the love of him?”

Thanking and praising God as we begin and end our day will perhaps spur us to make all our “common business” in the middle acts of loving devotion to our good God.  

Brother Lawrence washed dishes, tended the garden, and completed the mundane tasks of day-to-day life as a monk. But he did it out of love for God. 

Each day, the Levites baked, mixed, and assisted the priests with repetitive, monotonous tasks. But they began and ended with thanks and praise to God. 

Could we do the same? Can we commit to plant our feet on the floor each morning and lift our hands up to God with thanks and praise for another day?  

Can we then go about our daily list – which may also including washing dishes, tending to a garden, baking and mixing, but also driving, cooking, teaching, shopping, working, and a zillion other “-ings”– in “consciousness of God’s presence” and “wholly for the love of him?” 

As we fall into bed tired but satisfied with what we accomplished, can we then end our day as we began: in thanks and praise to God? 

All this thanking and praising, I believe, will make the ordinary more sacred, the ho-hum have purpose, and colorize what may, at times, seem like a gray existence.  

Of course, we automatically thank and praise Him for the big stuff: when the job comes through, the biopsy is negative, or the tax refund comes just in time to pay the insurance bill.  

But it is when we begin thanking and praising God for the daily small stuff – the ordinary, run-of-the-mill, everyday events – that we begin to truly abide in Him. We draw close. We sense His presence. Transformation happens. 

November is known for many things: Thanksgiving, election day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and No-Shave November, to name a few. But what if we launched our own new November tradition? Let’s call it No-Grumble November! Let’s choose to launch it by joining with the Levites of the Old Testament to stand each morning, and again each evening, to thank and praise God.  

What are you thanking and praising Him for today? 

This week’s Friday video is a bit different because Laura’s Bible study hosted its once-per-semester Love Out Loud. This day, which is held twice per year, is a mini missions/ministry event, and is a huge favorite for these ladies who are kind, generous, and love to bless others.

For many years, our fall project has been Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. It seems like a small thing: packing a shoe box with gifts for a child, which is then delivered to a place in the world we most likely will never visit. But, when you touch the heart of a child, you also open the door of the heart of those who love that child … and because the gospel is shared at these “Shoe box Parties,” entire families and villages get to hear about Jesus. Our small gifts take on kingdom-changing eternal significance.

This year we packed 146 boxes! Amazing! What a joy to pray into those boxes and the child that will open each. We may never know until eternity the impact each has made, but we were greatly blessed by working together to send them!

Visit our Downloads page for this month’s Write the WORD bookmark … our focus for November is GIVING THANKS!

He appointed some of the Levites
to minister before the ark of the LORD,
to extol, thank, and praise the LORD,
the God of Israel.
I Chronicles 16:4 (NIV)

To extol, thank, and praise – a good description of prayer.  

Thank and praise are both standard in our “Christian vocabulary” but extol feels more unfamiliar.   

Perhaps other Bible translations offer some insight: 

• NASB:  celebrate 
• NKJV:  commemorate 
• CEB:  remember 

The Ark represented the presence of God. And in God’s presence, certainly a suitable response is to extol, thank, and praise. Those things are worship – our appropriate response to Him.  

In Old Testament times, proximity to the Ark (representing the presence of God) was an honor reserved for the Levites. This was a holy, sacred privilege. Others would worship God from a distance … but the Levites were permitted to extol, thank, and praise Him up close. 

Because you and I live this side of the Cross, there is no distinction. Each believer has personal access to God because of the sacrifice made by Jesus. At his death, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, and all of us can extol, thank, and praise God directly. We need not be a Levite to have this tremendous privilege.  

We worship as an acknowledgment of who He is and what He has done. He reveals His glory to us. We see His fingerprints all around us. All creation bears testimony to his creativity, power, and love. God’s goodness and His greatness prompt us to give Him glory – to extol, thank, and praise Him. We do not add to His glory, but we react to what we witness. He reveals, we respond. 

As children of God, we can join our voices with David in declaring, 

 “I will extol the LORD at all times,
His praise will ever be on my lips.”
Psalm 34:1

It’s easy for our prayer lives to become a mere recitation of, “Lord, do this, do that, help him, be with her…” Before we know it, we’ve allowed our prayers to spiral down to little more than a laundry list. Now is the time to change that.  

During this season of giving thanks, let’s challenge one another to more giving to God – our thanks, our worship, our obedience – and less asking of Him.  To HIM be the glory! 

Nehemiah 9 records the longest prayer in the entire Bible – a rhythm of worship and confession, examining the history of God’s people and their interaction with Him. In this chapter, God’s goodness and greatness stands in sharp contrast to the sin and disobedience of His chosen people. We invite you to watch Friday’s teaching lecture, and then prayerfully make time to use the prayer from Nehemiah 9 as a template for your own.

When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD,
sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
Leviticus 22:29

This month’s Write the WORD is devoted to GIVING THANKS.  

A “thank offering” that we find in scripture is a type of fellowship offering. My research reveals that these offerings were made as a grateful expression of thanks for: 

1. Trouble averted – sickness, death, etc. 
2. Blessings received 

When a sacrifice was made in Old Testament times, blood was involved. An animal had to die. As the animal was slaughtered, surely the thought would come, “I am here to honor God because He has blessed me — either taken away the bad or provided the good — and an animal has to die for me to be blessed.”  

As that thought works its way into the heart and mind, the realization comes that every good gift comes from God. The ultimate gift is His Son, Jesus. Jesus had to die to take away the bad (our sin) and to provide the good (eternal life later, and blessing upon blessing now).  

Leviticus 22:29-30 reveals the offering was to be eaten the same day – none was to be left until morning. We may not call it a “Thank Offering” today, but we certainly do celebrate with food: anniversaries, birthdays, banquets to mark special events or achievements, and holiday dinners. As the holiday season approaches and we begin to plan Thanksgiving dinner, let’s not overlook the giving of thanks part of the holiday.  

Though we won’t be slaughtering an animal to present at the Temple, let’s choose to intentionally offer up thanks to God for our own trouble averted and blessings received during 2024. Let’s acknowledge and praise Him as the deliverer and the provider of it all. 

As the thanks in our heart are shared on our tongue, they make an impact. A declaration is made for others to hear. And if your Thanksgiving dinner table — or family wiener roast or soccer team awards banquet — includes those who do not know or acknowledge God, then your words of praise are a sacrifice to Him. You share that praise, take that risk, and honor the One who provided every good gift.  

Let’s commit to making that sacrifice of praise this holiday season, and in the coming year!

In this week’s devotional video, we share the teaching lecture from Laura’s latest Bible study. With the walls rebuilt and the gates in place, the focus of Nehemiah 8 shifts to rebuilding the lives of the God’s chosen people spiritually. As they come together and ask for the Word of God, their reverence for it is clear as they mourn their sin and worship the Lord. We invite you to listen to Friday’s thoughts from Laura, then prayerfully consider your own response to God’s Word.

Have you begun writing along with us this month? Our Write the WORD topic for November is GIVING THANKS. Won’t you visit our Downloads page today to get your own copy of this month’s bookmark, and join us as we prepare our hearts for the holiday season by digging deep into what the scriptures tell us about thankfulness?

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
When they saw him, they worshiped him;
but some doubted.”
Matthew 28:16-17 

Most of us are familiar with Matthew 28:19-20. In Christian circles, it’s commonly known as The Great Commission. 

If we grew up in church, we’ve probably memorized it, quoted it, wrote it in calligraphy, worn it on a tee shirt, and even learned to sing it to a little jingle at VBS. The words of the Great Commission begin, “Go and make disciples…”  

The word “Go” suggests action and activity. The “Martha” in us likes the GO. We appreciate an assignment to serve the Kingdom:  

• Go pick up craft supplies for Sunday School 
• Go visit the nursing home 
• Go on the mission trip 

Go, go, go for Jesus! We are taught to live an active faith — and we should live an active faith. Jesus left us with a commandment and we need to take it seriously.  

But before we jump to the GO of Matthew 28:19, let’s first read what came before. Back up to verses 16-17, recorded above.  

Before the Great Commission, the disciples were told to go to the mountain. They obeyed, and their obedience was rewarded — they got to see Jesus!  

And when they saw Jesus, I believe they did the only thing we can do when we truly see Jesus: worship! 

You and I can “go to the mountain” every day, too. We can meet Jesus here and now. We do it when we open His Word. He meets us there, reveals truth to us there … and we respond in worship. It’s a daily time that must be prioritized and cherished. This daily commitment will transform us into mature women of God who are “working out their salvation” (Philippians 2:12).

And then look what happened after worship: they received their assignment. The work flowed from their worship.  

Perhaps we are too quick to rush to the GO. When we worship first, we ensure that the GO is something Jesus wants done, and that it is a GO He intends for us to do, rather than someone else.

Before grabbing your clipboard, grab your Bible. Go to the mountain. Worship. Fill up before you pour out. Then ask Jesus, Where and to whom is my GO today?

Can we challenge one another to worship before we work? 

In this week’s Friday devotional video, Laura introduces our Write the WORD topic for November: Giving Thanks. We hope this monthly resource is a blessing to you! Please watch and listen as Laura shares a short devotional on “Giving Thanks” inspired by a verse from Leviticus that appears on our November bookmark.

After watching, we hope you’ll download your copy and prepare to start writing with us later this week. You’ll also find our optional S.O.A.P. Bible study outlines, as well as other free resources, on our Downloads page!

Ezra opened the book.
All the people could see him because
he was standing above them;
and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
Nehemiah 8:5

Don’t you just love this visual of God’s people standing spontaneously and reverently to honor the Word of God?  

Standing helped their hearts and minds focus intently. Their choice to stand communicated their awe for the Word and their readiness to drink deep from the living water flowing forth from it. They were thirsty! They were eager! The posture of their bodies reflected the posture of their hearts. 

This verse has prompted me to ask those listening to stand as I read the Word aloud before teaching. Oh, that believers of today would be just as thirsty as those listening to Ezra on that day!

Now look at what happened next: 

Ezra praised the LORD, the great God,
and all the people lifted their hands and responded,
“Amen! Amen!”
Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD
with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:6

The peopled joined with Ezra in giving God praise for His Word.  Their “Amen!” conveys agreement; another translation might be, “So be it!” And note their posture in worship: they bowed down. God’s Word humbles us. We see who God is, and what God requires, and we realize we are lacking. We worship Him because He loves us … in spite of us! 

The proper response to the Word of God was — and still is — PRAISE!

As you and I read the Word, may we respond likewise: 

• Eagerness to receive it 
• Reverence when we hear it 
• Humility as it convicts us 
• Worship to God who gives it 
• Agreement with it – and choosing to live it

God’s Word both deserves and demands a response. Whether or not we stand physically, is the posture of our heart eagerness and reverence?  

Whether or not we bow down physically, are we humbled spiritually?  

Does God’s Word draw us to worship – to glorify Him as we hear it?  

And finally, do we agree with God? Does our “Amen!” truly mean “so be it”?

Are you ready to listen and respond, to worship and bow down, to hear and obey, as you acknowledge God’s Word with joyful praise and a heart of surrendered obedience? 

May the Spirit of God take the Word of God and stir up praise to God from the people of God! 

In the sixth chapter of the book of Nehemiah, the work on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem continues, but so does the opposition. In this week’s lesson from Laura’s Bible study, we learned that the enemies of God’s people resorted to deception — to trickery and treachery — in their attempts to stop the work. But Nehemiah remained steadfast. He focused on his assignment from the Lord and the walls were completed.

As believers, you and I may be targets of the enemy’s lies, as well. We invite you to listen and learn from this week’s teaching lecture, with hope and prayer that God equips you with wisdom to discern truth and reject falsehoods as you seek to follow Him in your life.

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And God said,
“I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you:
When you have brought the people out of Egypt,
you will worship God on this mountain.”
Exodus 3:12

The presence of God makes the impossible possible. 

Enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, the Israelites had most likely ceased to even dream of freedom. Getting out of Egypt seemed unlikely. Hope perhaps evaporated with each new generation born into slavery, without memories or knowledge of freedom or the Promised Land.  

But God remembered.  

The Promise Keeper never forgot His promise. God called Moses, and sent him back to Egypt to rescue His people from bondage and lead them to freedom.  

God’s rescue of the Israelites back then points to His rescue of us now. He sent Jesus forth from heaven to save us from our own “Egypt” – the sin that so easily entangles and keeps us in bondage.  

Jesus came to free us:  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free….” (Galatians 5:1a)

God told Moses that when the people had been delivered, they would worship Him.   

We were created for worship: to make much of God, to glorify Him. Indeed, freedom calls for praise! Those living in the darkness, slavery, and yoke of oppression in Egypt were rescued. And they were to respond to God’s provision with worship.

Today, we are to do the same.  

Have you recently thanked God for providing your salvation? Have you expressed gratitude to Jesus for leaving heaven’s throne, putting on flesh, and dying a death He didn’t deserve?  

If you are a child of God, you have been rescued from “Egypt” and can praise Him on the mountain!  

My rescue from Egypt was many years ago. I praise God for the salvation He provided. But it also occurs to me that in many ways, I have failed to treasure and value my freedom. In fact, there have been seasons where I have run back to “Egypt” … back to the sin that entangles and robs us of freedom. But in His great love, He continues to rescue me. I’m not talking about salvation – that matter was settled all those years ago, when I accepted His gift of redemption – but the process of sanctification, refinement, and transformation.  

Sin wants to capture us. Our faithful God saves and rescues us. By our choice and free will, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s prompting, choosing to stay out of Egypt after being rescued. Abiding in Him, making the daily choice to walk in worship and obedience, keeps me satisfied and content in the place where God has planted me.  

Worship is our response to our salvation … and also what keeps us abiding in Him and delighting in our new identity.

Is your daily life of freedom characterized by worship? Would you give it a try?  

If God has rescued us from Egypt, let’s stop trying to run back. I believe praise has the power to change our “I-can’t-go-back-there” to an “I-have-no-desire-to-go-back-there” heart and mindset! Our “have to” can be transformed to a “want to” through worship.

Let’s wrap up by looking again at Galatians 5:1 – this time in its entirety: 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again
by a yoke of slavery.

I don’t know about you, but I find it far easier to stand firm, when I stand in praise and worship! To HIM be the glory! 

This week’s devotional video features Laura’s teaching lecture from her weekly Bible study. In Nehemiah 4, the work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls continues and is going well. But not everyone is happy about the progress. This chapter reveals opposition to the rebuilding project in many forms. We invite you to watch as Laura discusses how Nehemiah responded to the opposition then … and how we can resist and stand strong in our battles today!

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Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord
saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham,
who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.
As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
Genesis 24:26-27

Perhaps there was no more daunting assignment for an Old Testament servant than being sent to find a wife for the master’s son. And when the son is the only son of Abraham, the one through whom God has promised to bless the nations, the stakes are even higher.  

The servant, widely believed by biblical scholars to be Eliezer, prepared well before launching out. He asked several questions of Abraham to clarify the assignment. He assembled ample supplies. And, most importantly of all, he prayed.

His prayer (recorded in Genesis 24:12-14) was: 

• Selfless (he asked for success so that his master would be blessed) 
• Specific (“When I ask for a drink, let her offer to water my camels, too.”) 
• Submitted (he prayed that God’s will be done ⁠— “let her be the one you have chosen”) 

Oh, that our prayers would be selfless! Perhaps when they come from a place of selflessness, God honors what we have specifically asked. And most of all, perhaps God delights in answering prayers that demonstrate our trust and submission to Him. In fact, I believe the prayer that never, ever fails is: Thy will be done! 

God not only answered Eliezer’s prayer, He answered quickly. Verse 15 begins, “Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came…” I love that! 

The encounter at the well is recorded in Genesis 24:15-25. Everything unfolded beautifully. God provided far beyond expectations. And that leads us to verses 26 and 27, one of our Write the WORD passages for the month.  

In these verses, Eliezer models the proper response to God’s provision: worship. He was so overwhelmed with gratitude to God that he immediately bowed down and praised God for His provision with thankful worship.  

His example challenges us to do the same.

Over the course of a day, week, or month, you and I most likely ask God for many things ⁠— guidance, provision, resources, help, words, wisdom, etc. But do we follow through when He follows through? When God answers, is our first response like that of Eliezer: bow down and worship? Is thankful worship part of your walk with the Lord? 

What are you bowing down and worshiping God for today? 

This week’s devotional video features Laura’s teaching on the third chapter of Nehemiah. In Chapter 3, God’s people roll up their sleeves and put some work behind their words of commitment in Chapter 2: “Let us rise up and build.” As you listen to this week’s teaching lecture, we invite you to consider how the Israelites working together then compares to the body of Christ working together today.

Visit our Downloads page today to find your own copy of this month’s Write the WORD bookmark, S.O.A.P. Bible study pages, and more.

Laura’s weekly in-person Bible study (which meets in Siloam Springs, Arkansas) is a daytime class. As such, the ladies in the group are primarily retired or stay-at-home moms with young children. For years, it has been Laura’s desire to also connect with women in the workplace ⁠—  many of whom have a desire and heart to grow in the Word, but are restrained by time challenges. If that describes you, we pray that our new program, Triple Cord, might meet your need. Listen to Laura unpack the Triple Cord idea and then  reach out to us via email for more information about joining a Triple Cord group.