Cross My Heart Ministry

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.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker
Psalm 95:6

We read in I Corinthians 10:31 that the reason for our existence is to glorify God. This month’s Write the WORD focuses on one of the ways we live out that purpose: worship.

As I scoured the Bible for verses including the word worship, I noted over and over how many times it was preceded by the phrase, bow down. A quick search on “bow down and worship” at BibleGateway.com yielded 29 hits!  

Perhaps the reason we so often see these two concepts coupled together is obvious: only a humble heart can truly and completely worship God. As we behold His glory, we are humbled by who He is (and simultaneously, often painfully, made aware of who we are not). WORSHIP is the only possible or appropriate reaction in that moment of raw, sobering self-awareness and overwhelming “God-awesomeness.”

Come write with us this month! Let’s look at examples scattered across the Old and New Testaments where worship was the response to a variety of circumstances and events. And as we write the words with our pens, I pray our hearts and minds immediately respond. May we be not just hearers of the Word, but doers of it as we give our great God the praise due His glorious name!  

Whether this is your first month to join us or writing the Word has become part of your daily rhythm, we welcome you and invite you to download our free printable Write the WORD bookmark and S.O.A.P. Bible study pages. As women of God, adding this one activity to your daily schedule is a very simple way to spend time in scripture and hide God’s Word in your heart.

We were created to glorify for God and WORSHIP is a big part of how we do that. In this week’s devotional video, Laura discusses how “writing the WORD” works. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch as she shares a bit on the importance of worship in our lives.

Visit our Downloads page today to find our Write the WORD bookmark, S.O.A.P. Bible study pages, and other free resources to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy life and family.

As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

The expression “peer pressure” certainly carries a negative connotation. Secular and non-secular studies alike have confirmed the impact (particularly during adolescence) of peers. Teenagers, when influenced by their friends, are far more vulnerable to substance abuse, reckless behavior, bullying, and a host of other things that are potentially life-altering.  

As conscientious Christian parents and grandparents, we may try to postpone the timing of those influences … but please don’t ever assume you can avoid them altogether. And please don’t assume that another teen is godly, simply because he or she attends church or was raised in a godly family (to the best of your knowledge).  

When children are young, the adults in their lives control their relationships. We choose who they play with, what they do, and where they go. And to a certain extent—especially when the adults are very engaged with the kids—that can continue into adolescence.

But at some point, we need to hand them the reins. Only parents can decide when is the right time for that to happen. It will be a decision not only unique to each family, but perhaps to each child.  

If we are devoted to teaching and training their hearts, our focus will be to prepare them to make good choices for themselves and help them understand how they can do that. It’s easy to build high walls and keep them in place until a child turns 18 … but what happens then?  

As a mother of four adults, I’m a long-time advocate of communication early on. Ask your children and grandchildren what makes a good friend. Role play with questions like, “What would you do if ___?” Using “worst case scenario” tools, empower them for as many situations as you can imagine. Explain some of your own poor choices (or those you have witnessed in others) as a warning. Pray. Talk. Share.  

We must prepare the children in our sphere of influence to make wise choices in friends. We must also challenge them to be a positive influence upon others.

Here are a few questions that come to mind for discussion with the children you love: 

1. What qualities make for a good friend? 
2. Who is your best friend and why? 
3. What would you do if a friend wanted you to watch or do something that made you feel uncomfortable? 
4. What did Joseph do when he was in an uncomfortable situation? (See Genesis 39) 
5. Did I ever tell you about the time …? 

Each passing year is one less we have to be a daily, primary influence upon these young souls that God has placed in our lives. Ultimately, we hope and pray it is the voice of the Holy Spirit they choose to heed above all. But we know that peers will also influence their lives, attitudes, and behaviors.

If they choose well, peer pressure can be a profoundly positive influence in the life of a child.  

Lord, I pray for my children and grandchildren,
and for their friends.
I pray You would raise up a generation of Christ followers
who love You and love Your Word.
I pray the children in my life would choose their confidants well.
I pray You would hedge them in from the wrong friends
and steer them to those who will be a positive influence –
that they would mutually encourage each other to live for You,
always and in all ways.
May iron sharpen iron in all their relationships.
Amen.

At the end of Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah concluded that he was the answer to the problem in Jerusalem. He was to go and rebuild! In this week’s ladies’ Bible study lesson, we move into chapter 2 and see God opening the door for Nehemiah to make the big ask to the King of Persia. We invite you to listen to this week’s teaching lecture, as Laura unpacks Nehemiah’s approach to the king and challenges us to follow his example by allowing our faith in God to be greater than our fear of the person or circumstances before us.

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