Cross My Heart Ministry

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
 for I am gentle and humble in heart,
 and you will find rest for your souls.
 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:29

If this passage seems very familiar, that’s because it is part of the one highlighted in last week’s Sunday Soaking.  There was just more truth to squeeze out before moving on!

The word “yoke” brings up memories of two oxen chained together, walking in a circle, and going nowhere. Pretty much describes the self-imposed yokes we often put upon ourselves – or allow others to thrust upon us.

His yoke, in contrast, is love, peace, and righteousness in Christ. It’s described as “easy” in verse 30.

The phrase “learn from me” offers hope to this Type-A girl. Learning to be comfortable with the easy and light way He offers is a process. After wearing the striving-and-doing yoke for so long, the one fashioned of love and peace seems too light and too easy … sometimes awkward because it’s so strange and unfamiliar.

Can it be this simple?

Shouldn’t I be working harder … and perhaps expecting more of others?

The old yoke – of doing more, getting my way, and winning at any cost – feels comfortable because it’s familiar. As it is lifted and replaced with the new way of thinking and behaving, the “light and easy” can feel a bit too, well, light and easy. As we learn from Him, we come to realize a light and easy yoke fits and feels nice. No blisters or callouses. No staggering under the weight of it, or working to carry something too heavy for  us … something He never asked us to carry, but a burden we just loaded up on our own.

Are you weary of trying to remember why you are angry, of continuing to stoke old fires? Is that grudge you are carrying only growing heavier through the years? Are you overwhelmed, trying to meet the needs of everyone in your world while ignoring your own? Does life feel like it has zero margin? Are you rationalizing your existence and tallying up your good deeds to assess your worth?

STOP IT.

Breathe.

Focus.

Come to the One who has already won the battle. The One whose sacrifice has already ensured you are enough in Him. The reality is that you and I could stack yoke upon yoke, keep trying to walk and do and be more and it would never, ever be enough. That’s the point, really. Only in Him can we be declared righteous. Only in Him can we find real love and lasting peace. It’s not about what we do. It’s all about who we know. Do you know Him? Do you believe He is enough? Does your behavior match up with your belief?

So what’s it gonna be? His yoke or your own? Easy and light, or hard and heavy? Choosing which to put on is a daily decision. Which do you choose to wear today?

For this week’s devotional video, it’s a joy to have Bri Hess from Cross Church sharing insights from Exodus 33:14. Listen now to be reminded that no matter the season in life – or the challenge that season brings — it is the constant, abiding presence of God that brings us REST:

If you aren’t writing along with us this June, we invite you to begin now. Visit our Downloads page for your own copy of this month’s Write the WORD: REST bookmark, optional S.O.A.P. Bible study pages, and more free resources to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy life and home.

Come to me,
 all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
 and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)

“Weary and burdened” can certainly describe a busy wife and mother (or grandmother!) juggling the responsibilities of daily life. If you’re old enough to remember Helen Reddy singing, “I am woman, hear me roar,” then you might join with me in rewriting the lyrics:

I am woman…I am tired.

Sometimes we try to fix the weariness — with a vacation, a shopping trip, a chick flick, or a big bowl of ice cream. All those temporary reprieves and indulgences are just that: temporary. They are inadequate attempts to use physical rest solutions to bring soul rest resolution.

Soul rest and physical rest are not the same. The length of our to-do list does not (necessarily) bring soul weariness. It is the continual doing without refueling that depletes the soul.

Our daily coming to Him fills us up so we can continue to pour out. His yoke is easy. His burden brings love, peace, and purpose. He enables us to not just do the laundry, shop for groceries and make the meals, rise early and stay up late, but to do it all with a heart and mind set on bringing Him glory. Our daily coming to Him – our daily choice to worship – is what fuels us to do everything else. We can worship before, and in the midst of, the daily duties and challenges. Because our rest is in Him, the challenges become opportunities, and the duties bring delight. In an uncanny way that can only be attributed to God Almighty, soul rest can be found even in — sometimes especially in — the midst of chaos and full schedules.

Soul rest can be found only in Jesus. He alone provides what we really need and crave. He invites us: Come to me…you will find rest for your souls. If that sounds appealing, but also abstract, here are a few ideas for making it real:

1. Make time for Jesus. Decide to get up a little early. Even ten minutes can transform your day. Choosing to worship Him first is a declaration of priority. Making that declaration will color everything else that happens that day.
   
   
2. Read the Word. The Bible is our daily manna. It is God Himself speaking to us. It brings revelation, encouragement, conviction, and confirmation. It will transform your life. I can say that with confidence, because it has transformed mine.
   
   
3. Be quiet before Him. Life can become a cacophony of messages, demands, and information. Making room to listen will lead you to be ready: to learn, and to find soul rest.
   
   
4. Praise Him. We were created for worship. It’s in our spiritual DNA. Lifting our voices to acknowledge Him will simultaneously lift our souls.
   
   
5. Savor the sacred. Time in His presence will separate out the holy and the eternal from the carnal and the temporary. It distinguishes the yoke we choose to receive from Him from the one the world wants to thrust upon us.

So go ahead and indulge in a little shopping spree. Enjoy a double-dip splurge of chocolate chip. But don’t expect those gratifications to sustain your soul. Only Jesus can do that.

This month’s Write the WORD focus is REST. In this week’s devotional video, Laura looks at truth found in red letters (meaning they are from the lips of our Lord and Savior) in Mark 6:31:

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

We hope you’ll listen in as Laura explores these inspiring words of truth from our Savior:

We invite you to join us in reading, writing, and studying what God’s Word tells us about REST this month. You can find you own copy of our Write the WORD bookmark, along with the optional S.O.A.P. Bible study outline and other helpful resources, on our Downloads page.

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For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Do not fear, I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13

Being a teacher, mentor, and spiritual coach to women means I have the sacred, holy privilege of hearing their stories. Some make me cheer; some make me cry. Women who are put together on the outside often carry hurt and pain on the inside. I’ve come to realize that life in this fallen world means you and me – all of us – are coming out of a hard thing, living through a hard thing, or a hard thing is on the horizon.

That’s not pessimistic, friend. It’s realistic.

We need to remember that God is not the author of pain. It was the enemy that slithered into the garden and hissed a lie into Eve’s ear. She chose to believe the evil one rather than God. And the proverbial Pandora’s box was opened. Sin entered the world, and brought along its companions: shame, guilt, suffering, etc. The choices of Adam and Eve then, and our own choices now, bring suffering as a result. Some of our pain is the result of things we’ve done and some is the result of what has been done to us.

Suffering stinks.

But suffering can serve a purpose. God can take what was not good and He can work it for good.

He can use these hard things to refine us and humble us. Pride tells us we don’t need anybody. A spiritual two-year-old declares, “I can do it myself!” But difficult circumstances can drive us to Him.

When all is well, we tend to forget about God. But when trouble comes, we find ourselves needing His help and crying out for it.

The reality is, He is always near. In good times and bad, He is near. When we are “good” girls and we are not-so-good. He loves us in the trouble and in the triumph – and we need Him in both.

If God is close enough to take hold of our hand, He is close. How reassuring to realize that we worship a God who is not just “up there” but very much “down here,”  who knows and understand what “this” feels like. He came to us and for us. He became us. Removing his robe of glory, Jesus put on human flesh. We pray to a God who knows what it is to suffer and to navigate life in a fallen world.

When we realize He is near and He can help and He wants to help, our restless hearts are quieted. A sweet calmness settles over us. The storm may be raging on the outside, but we find ourselves quieted in the eye of the storm … because His hand is holding ours.

O God, thank you for holding my hand!
I will not fear because You are with me and for me
and I know you will help me!

We hope you will join us during June for our Write the WORD topic of the month: REST. In this week’s video, Laura shares her thoughts about rest: the command to do it, reasons for it, and a reminder of WHO we find rest in!

Visit our Downloads page today for your own copy of our free REST bookmark, optional S.O.A.P. study pages, and more resources to help you balance your heart for God with the demands of a busy life!

So then, brothers, stand firm and
hold to the teachings we passed on to you,
whether by word of mouth or by letter.
II Thessalonians 2:15

Even those without an economics degree understand the inverse relationship between supply and demand: if it’s rare or hard to find, human nature prompts us to want it all the more!

Believers in the first century did not have the luxury of a bound Bible with the complete text of the Old and New Testaments. The latter was being written in real time and the scrolls holding the Old Testament were rare, precious, and housed in the synagogue.

Persecuted believers around the world can relate. While it can be hard for western-world Christians to imagine, there are places even today where one single Bible is smuggled into a community and then carefully torn apart, with each member of the church receiving one precious page.

Does limited supply make the words of the Bible all the more desirable? And does unlimited supply (thanks to our modern technology and easy availability) make the Bible less desirable?

Our 21^st-century tools bring Bible studies, podcasts, and blogs to our ears and eyes anytime, anywhere. But the danger is that the information super highway can wear us down. If you’re like me, you may sometimes find yourself listening to but not hearing – metaphorically eating but not digesting – the Word of God.

How do we fight against it? How can we take to heart Paul’s admonition to stand firm and hold to the teaching we read in the Bible (and hear on Sunday morning)?

Here are three suggestions:

1. Pray. I know that sounds trite and cliché. But truly, as your pastor approaches the pulpit on Sunday and as you open your Bible each morning, ask the Spirit of God to impress the Word of God upon your heart and mind: Holy Spirit help me to take hold of the Word you have for me!
2. Write it down. If you follow this ministry, you know I’m a huge fan of reading and writing the Word of God. Can we all agree we are more likely to remember what we write? (It’s the reason that even if I forget my list at home, I almost always remember everything I wrote on it when I get to the grocery store!)
3. Talk about it.  Admittedly, I tend to be a verbal processor, but I do believe that truth is impressed onto our hearts and moved from short-term to long-term memory when we have a dialogue over Sunday lunch or Tuesday morning with our accountability partner or on Thursday night with our small group. Sharing helps you hold onto it – and comes with the double benefit of blessing the one with whom you share that truth.

What ideas to help “hold to the teaching” can you add to the list? Leave me a note below!

Praying this week finds all of us more determined and relentless to stand firm and hold to the teaching!

Paul’s words to the church in I Thessalonians 5:21 are short and sweet, but powerful and convicting. While he penned this message in the first century, the teaching is just as applicable to living in the 21st century! Please listen as Laura challenges us to embrace Paul’s admonition to test everything and “hold on to what is good,” in this week’s devotional video:

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:9-10

 Most of the “hold” verses we’re reading and writing this month speak of us holding on to God and holding on to His Word.  The passage above brings the reassurance of God holding on to us!

(If you haven’t yet jumped in, you can download your copy of the Write the WORD bookmark here.)

On this Mother’s Day, I hope this verse encourages your heart as it does mine. This truth brings sweet reassurance to our hearts – for ourselves, and for our children and family. When we belong to God, we can’t get up early enough or travel far enough to escape His faithfulness. He will hold us fast. And He will hold those we love fast. He is ever faithful!

Mother’s Day may be a happy day or a sad one for you. Mothers reading this may have a full day of celebration to enjoy, while others see this as just a day to get through. There are women who have lost children, who long to have children, who are estranged from their children, and women who are heartbroken over the condition of their children’s hearts.

Whatever emotion Mother’s Day evokes for you when you look out, I want to encourage you to look up – to look to God and acknowledge His faithfulness and provision. He loves you. He is for you. He is holding you fast. He’s got you.  You and I may not know what is happening or why things have happened or what will happen. But we know the One who does. And that, my friend, is enough. You can place your head on the pillow tonight knowing He’s got you. He is holding you fast.

In this week’s devotional video, Laura takes us to Proverbs 4, where a wise parent implores a child to see the value of embracing the wisdom found in God’s Word. She encourages us, as women of God, to take hold of God Word’s and hols onto it!

Have you downloaded this month’s Write the WORD bookmark? If not, it isn’t too late to join in for the rest of May as we read, write, and study verses featuring the word, “hold.” Find your own copy of the free bookmark and optional S.O.A.P. study outlines HERE on our Downloads page.

 If you carefully observe all these commands
I am giving you to follow
—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him
and to hold fast to him—
 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you,
and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
Deuteronomy 11:22-23

How easy it is to deem the Old Testament as all about law and legalism, and the New Testament as love and mercy. At best this is shortsighted and at worst, heretical. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. Like two sides of the same coin, He is righteous and just, as well as loving and merciful.

We are often put off by the Old Testament – finding it easy to paint with a broad legalistic brush. But to do this would miss the depth of the love of God. His loving provision and faithfulness to His people in ancient times should prompt both praise and gratefulness from His modern-day people.

Deuteronomy is a second telling of the law. Moses, who faithfully loved and led God’s chosen people for over 40 years, wanted to remind them of everything they needed to know and remember as they prepared to cross the Jordan River and claim the land promised to them. Like a parent sending a child off to college, Moses could not go with them. They would fight battles without him, they would see things he would not see, and live where he would not live.

Can you sense the urgency in his words to prepare them? He stressed three points to them in the above passage:

• Love the Lord your God
• Walk in obedience to His commands
• Hold fast to Him

Love, obey, and hold fast. Good advice then. And still good advice now.

Moses reminded them of the blessings that would roll back upon them: victory over enemies larger and stronger than themselves. Claiming the Promised Land meant defeating seasoned warriors and taking down fortified cities.

The Israelites who left Egypt were slaves. Brick makers. Ill-equipped for war. Their descendants were desert dwellers whose daily bread, meat, and water had been faithfully provided by God. If an ancient sportscaster created a tournament bracket for warring nations, Israel would be last seed. No way would anybody anticipate these guys defeating the “giants” living in the land. Most of the Israelites themselves didn’t think it was possible. (That’s the reason an entire generation missed out on seeing it happen!)

But with God, anything and everything is possible. God can work with a man or a woman who loves and obeys Him — a man or woman who chooses to HOLD FAST to Him.

What “giants” need to be conquered in your life? What job is too much for you? Are you facing something that is more than you can handle?

It’s not the size of your enemy or the magnitude of the task … but the God who goes with you that determines the outcome!

Oh, dear one – the words from Moses to the people then are the same ones we need to hear and heed today: love God, obey God, and hold fast to God!

He was with them then. He is with us now! Hallelujah! Glory to His Name!

“I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
    do not let me be put to shame.”

At first reading, the beginning of Psalm 119:31 seems unrelated to the latter portion. But as we write, pray, and think about what David wrote, we see a clearer connection between God’s Word and avoiding shame. We invite you to watch as Laura teaches on this “hold fast” verse in this week’s devotional video:

We are just getting started on our new May Write the WORD bookmark: HOLD. We hope you will join us … print your copy here.

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Life sometimes catches us off guard. 

Even knowing trouble will come — Jesus gave us a heads up in John 16:33: “…in this world you will have trouble…” — it sometimes throws us for a loop. 

When enduring hard things, my go-to verse, the one that allows me to both receive and release encouragement and peace, is Philippians 4:6-7.

Read that verse above again … slowly this time. Make it your prayer. Ask God to help you believe it and live it.  

When life happens, when you are blindsided by trouble or difficulty, look to Paul’s recipe for peace:  we pray and He provides.  

Sometimes He calms the storm, but other times, He just keeps the believer calm within the storm. Life can bring a hurricane raging around us, yet it is possible to be peaceful and calm in the middle — living and abiding in the peace and calm of His watchful eye.  

I like to call Philippians 4:6-7 the “trade up” passage: we give Him the anxiety and the worry, and in exchange we get His peace. It’s illogical. It’s unlikely. It’s counter-cultural. But, God … With Him, all things are possible. With God, we can have the peace that “transcends all understanding” — that blows your mind. You can’t get this from the world. Only from God. 

When you trade with God, you always trade up! 

From a human perspective, this peace is incomprehensible. It’s something the world cannot manufacture and cannot even understand. It comes only from Him. And when God blesses us with His peace, it becomes our own personal spiritual “force field,” protecting our hearts and our minds (precisely where we are most vulnerable to fear and anxiety).   

Are your circumstances today anything but peaceful? Do you long for peace in your home, your life, your relationships, and your heart? Will you take time — make time — to draw near to Jesus? Will you choose to bring that anxiety-riddled, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking dilemma before Him? Whether your burden is relational, medical, financial, spiritual, or something else, follow Paul’s advice: “present your requests to God.”  

As we choose to let go of our difficult circumstance and let Him have it, we are freed from the burden of fixing it, carrying it, and trying to change it. We trust Him with it. We give Him the fear and anxiety, and in exchange, we receive His peace. What a trade! 

He makes it possible to receive His peace and to walk in peace.  

You are most likely familiar with the poem, Footsteps in the Sand, that tells the story of someone who dreams of walking along a beach with God as scenes from her life pass before her. In some places she sees two sets of footprints, but in others, only one. The poem ends with, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.” 

You may have had this on a poster in your college dorm room. Perhaps you’ve shared a beautiful beach scene featuring some of the words with your Facebook friends.

Many of you could give powerful testimony from your life, demonstrating when the Lord carried you. I could do the same. Those were sweet, precious times of peace.  

But if you’re like me, there are also some seasons where the picture of your life’s journey would sometimes include one set of footprints and a big smudge alongside: those are the times God was dragging me where I am reluctant to go! 

As we know Him better, we love Him more. We learn to trust Him and follow where He leads. No matter what we walk through, good or bad, He is always with us. He promised to never leave us and never forsake us, and our Savior is trustworthy. We can give Him the worries and have peace even when our circumstances feel anything but peaceful. If we have Him, we have all we need.  

Those hard times are precious because they make us ever more dependent upon God, more desperate for Him. 

We can walk in peace, because He walks with us.

We can walk through anything knowing that He is our reality … that 0ur circumstances are fleeting, but Jesus is our constant, and eternity with Him is our destiny.  

To know Jesus is to know peace. When there is no Jesus, there is no real peace.   

Have you got peace? 

Hold on! Hold fast! Hold tight!

Those might be phrases we use to exhort those we love as they face the new battles life brings. Our Write the WORD bookmark for May includes 31 verses — all including the word, HOLD. You can get your copy of the bookmark from our Downloads page, along with the optional S.O.A.P. Bible study pages, our monthly Do It! List, and more.

We’re overjoyed by the response to the Write the WORD workshop Laura presented in Northwest Arkansas at the end of March. So many have accepted the challenge and are experiencing the blessing of writing the WORD each day! To inquire about Laura bringing this workshop to your group, please email us today!