Cross My Heart Ministry

She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21

Welcome to Christmas!

This is the season of contrasts and clashes:

• They say, “Happy Holidays,” and we respond, “Merry Christmas!”
• They belt out, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” while we sing, “Silent Night.”
• They put out a huge inflatable Frosty, as we are setting up the nativity set.

Is Christmas a secular holiday? Yes.

Is it a spiritual holiday? Absolutely YES!

As followers of Christ living for Christ, we should feel that tension in everyday life — as we watch the news, see today’s movie and TV viewing choices, and note the language, attire, and behaviors that have become accepted as normal in our culture.

Choosing to live as devoted women of God means we are living counter-culture.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s stressful. It’s disconcerting.

Sometimes we feel judged and mocked — not just by the media or people in far-away places, but even by those who live next door. The wall that separates “us” from “them” feels like it’s growing taller and harder with every passing day.

But then comes Christmas.  

The twinkling lights, the cheerful red-and-green décor, the familiar music, the fresh scent of pine, the warm and comforting taste of gingerbread … our senses are assaulted with the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of the season. And in an almost magical (make that miraculous) way, it seems to bring about an invisible truce.

Hard hearts become softer. Normally deaf ears might be willing to listen. Deep inside those who might be most resistant to the truth is a seed of desire — perhaps unacknowledged and unidentified, but still there. The longing for it all to be true. A yearning for something this world cannot offer. Hope for more. And that, dear friends, is our window of opportunity!

Christmas is our time to join with the angels in proclaiming the “good news of great joy!” Let’s not squander this once-a-year chance to share Christ’s love while defenses are down and hope is up.

All around us, hearts are primed and ready. Let’s be prepared to walk through the doors that may be open (or to at least wedge our toes into the crack)!

How can we be ready? How can we prepare? We abide in Him! We keep on growing our own relationship with Jesus, so we are ready to introduce others to Him. I’ve found that immersion in the Word is the best way to get to know the Living Word — Jesus!

Are you abiding in His Word every day? Yes — we are entering the too-much-to-do-and-not-enough-time-to-do-it-all season, but that means it is even more important that we’re filled up with Him FIRST!

Please, do not neglect the Word in December! Read it, write it, reflect on it, and then sing it, share it, and live it!  

The verses we’ve selected for this Christmas season come from the Old and the New Testament. Some are clearly familiar and connected to Christmas; they may even be displayed on the Christmas cards you send and receive. Others may seem odd in connection with Christmas, but a closer reading will reveal the connection.

Christmas was not Plan B.  As we look back, we see the breadcrumbs God left for us sprinkled throughout the Old Testament — all pointing forward to the Bread of Life.

How extraordinary that God would become man. How amazing that love would propel Him to leave heaven’s glorious light to descend to the earth’s darkness. Reflecting upon God’s eternal plan, we realize there was no other way. A perfect sacrifice was required, and only God could provide it. But man sinned, so man must pay the price. Jesus, God-Man, exclusively satisfied the requirements.

Christianity is exclusive in that regard. God came to us. Immanuel means, “God with us.” At Christmas, we celebrate the good news that He came. Our confident hope for eternity rests in His completed work. As we hurl ourselves into the frenzy of shopping and wrapping, baking and cooking, decorating and hosting, we can simultaneously rest in the knowledge all that of our work and activity is not to earn His favor, but to celebrate that we already have it!

Our monthly Write The WORD and ‘Do It’ List downloads
are now available from our Downloads page.
We pray these free resources will help you keep a Mary heart
and check off all those Martha lists during December!

“And God is able to bless you abundantly,
so that
in all things at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.”
II Corinthians 9:8

What a great verse! God is able to bless you and bless me—and to do it abundantly.

Blessing is defined differently in God’s economy than in the world. Our culture measures blessing in dollars, square footage, or social media views and likes.

But when God blesses us, it’s about what we get to be part of, not what we get.

Blessing from God is “catch and release.” He blesses us so that we can bless others. And when you get that—and when that becomes the desire of your heart—everything changes. You receive a new perspective on who you are, the purpose for your life, and why you were created.

• Not just blessing, but abundant blessing.
• Not just some times, but all times.
• Not just a little, but all that you need.
• And not a few of our works, but every good work.

Because of God’s provision, we are blessed with everything we need: the presence of His Spirit, the gift if of His Word, and the daily gift of time and people to love on.

Because of God’s presence and provision, we can abound at ALL times and in EVERY good work. Does that truth stir your heart, friend? Does it light your fire? Does it spur you on, as it does me?

The word abound means to be over and above, to exceed the ordinary, to overflow, and to have a surplus.

What a promise! What a God! How good He is to us! He is the God of unlimited resources—the creator and sustainer of our universe and the lover of our souls.

I read this verse on my birthday this past week, and chose to receive it as a great gift from our very good God. It’s a gift for you, too! But like any other gift, we must open and use it before we can truly own and appreciate it.

Are you ready for some abounding—some “catching and releasing”? I know I am! Thank you, Lord!

This week marked the last session of the I Kings Bible study. We invite you to watch the latest teaching video, as Laura unpacks lessons from chapter 22 and the story of King Ahab begrudgingly seeking advice from God’s prophet, Micaiah.

Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Romans 12:9

Paul makes a declaration about love at the beginning of verse 9: Love must be sincere. He then follows up with several ways we can walk that out. The first two applications address how we respond to good versus how we respond to evil.

Paul maintains that love, then, is active—not passive. Love is more than a noun; it’s also a verb.

Words are cheap. How easy it is to wax poetic, say the right thing, and tell folks what they want to hear. Everyone longs to be loved, but don’t we also want the love we receive to be genuine … real … authentic?

Pretended love is fabricated. It is manipulative, self-seeking, and opportunistic. It’s not really love at all, but only a cheap counterfeit. Love is proven real by what it does. How it is lived out.

Do we love others because of what they can do for us … what we can get from them?

Do others love us with less than honorable motivations?

In our flesh—our human condition—we are predisposed towards selfishness, pride, and insincere love. We default to making it “all about me.”

• Do I love others … so that I will be filled up?
• Do I love others … so that I will be needed?
• Do I love others … so that I will feel love in return?

If our emotions are never returned in kind, how do we respond? Irritation? Disappointment? Anger? All those could indicate an insincere love.

Sincere love expects nothing in return. It releases love without the expectation of being lifted up, fawned over, or even thanked. If my love boomerang doesn’t come back at me, do I stop playing the love game?

The NASB version for Romans 12:9 reads, “Let love be without hypocrisy.”

Do I love hypocritically? Do I say one thing with my lips but hold a different attitude in my heart and mind? Sincere love is consistent from the inside all the way to the outside!

Sincere love is a fierce love; it actively hates evil. It fights against, defies, and seeks to eradicate evil. And it simultaneously clings to the good. Even when it’s hard to do it, we keep holding on … clinging to the good!

What does loving sincerely—by hating evil and clinging to good—look like in your life?

In this week’s teaching from I Kings, Laura discusses the arrogance and selfishness of King Ahab, as displayed in chapters 20 and 21. We hope you’ll take a few moments to watch and ask God to direct your heart’s response to this convicting message.

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me,
if only I may finish the race and complete the task
the Lord Jesus has given me –
the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24

It may have taken Paul a bit of time to accept the baton Jesus was offering, but once he grabbed hold of it, he just kept running! Nothing else mattered. Not even life itself was more precious to Paul than completing his assignment from Jesus.

In Acts 20, Paul’s race is taking him to Jerusalem—and, humanly speaking, it will not end well for Paul there. He knows what lies ahead. He is not sprinting with his eyes closed. He runs with determination and a relentless commitment to finish strong.

The Holy Spirit has warned him that the next leg of his race will bring prison and hardship. His response: “I consider my life worth nothing to me.”

After the Damascus Road experience, Paul’s life is defined by carrying the good news to anyone who would listen … and even to those who refused to listen! By the end of Acts, there is an even greater urgency, a determined compulsion to run harder.

Paul ran hard not because he was an over achiever or because there was a reward waiting for him. He ran for Jesus. He ran because the baton he carried was given to him by our Savior. Do you and I run for the same reason?

The good news of salvation is a message we all carry. If we know and love God, we know the gospel … but are we eager to share it? Do we look for opportunities to deliver it, or hide our baton and share it grudgingly? Are we carrying it where Jesus has directed, or—like the poor guy who intercepted the football, got turned around, then ran the ball into the opposing team’s end zone—are we running hard but in the wrong direction?

Paul was sent to Jerusalem. Some are sent to Africa or Alaska, China or Canada. You and I may be sent across town or across the street.

WHERE we end up matters much less than WHO sends us. Whatever our destination, the message will be the same: the gospel. But are we running races not assigned to us? Are we sitting on the sidelines when we should be in the race?

How can we know? We ask.

Jesus, empower me by your Spirit to run the race You have assigned to me. Show me my race. Help me to do no more – and no less – than You have apportioned to me. Fuel me for the race by Your Spirit. Thank you for the precious baton of truth I carry: the good news, the gospel. Help me to never ever get over what You have done for me. Help me to run all the way to the finish line and to run for Your glory!

This week was our once-monthly break from Laura’s I Kings Bible study, so she instead shared a devotional based on November’s Write the WORD topic: GOOD. We invite you to watch our latest YouTube video and be challenged to overcome evil with good in your own life!

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matthew 4:23

• It’s all good!
• Good as new!
• Good news or bad news?
• Good to see you
• Good deal
• A world of good
• Good sport
• Good day
• Goodbye

We throw around the word good to describe everything from lunch to world events. We use it to distinguish positive from negative and to greet one another (both coming and going).

So common is the word’s usage that it’s one of the 52 sight words on the Dolch primer list for children. It’s so familiar (and perhaps overused) that we may not give it a lot of thought.

This month, I hope we will give some thought to good – particularly, to the use of the word in the New Testament, where we will find that good (depending on your translation) may also be translated gospel.

Our Write the WORD bookmark for November highlights New Testament verses that feature the word, good. (Regular subscribers might remember the same focus word from November 2020 – with verses from the Old Testament.)

The first verse on our list comes from Matthew 4:23 (noted above). It clues us in on the mission of Jesus during His earthly, incarnate time of ministry: teaching, proclaiming, and healing. His teaching and proclaiming brought good news. His healing confirmed the authenticity of His message. Healing provided tangible evidence of His power over disease and illness. It pointed to the greater truth: His power to heal not only physically, but spiritually. The good news – the gospel – was celebrated by those who embraced it then … and is still celebrated, all these years later, by those who accept it now.

Are you experiencing the gospel as a reality in your life? Do you believe Jesus – His life, death, and resurrection – made good news possible for you? What difference is it making in your life? How is God moving and working in your life to live the reality of the gospel? How is it providing peace and joy, purpose and provision to you personally?

Is it all good for you – because you have believed the good news He proclaimed?

Our Free Gifts to You:  You’re invited to download your copy of the November Write the WORD bookmark and begin exploring the good all during November. We also hope you’ll check out the corresponding S.O.A.P.  pages (which are optional, but provide a simple, convenient framework for Bible study) and this month’s ‘Do It!’ List … also free to download.

If you have been listening or studying along in our journey through I Kings, you can view this week’s teaching on our YouTube channel here:

If Cross My Heart Ministry’s videos and blog posts have been a blessing to you, subscribing to our YouTube channel is a way to bless us, as well – there is no cost to you, but it is such a help and encouragement to us!

“He gives power to the weak,
and to those who have no might He increases strength.”
Isaiah 40:29

Is today a heavy day? Are you feeling under the pile, under the weather, or perhaps overwhelmed? Are you feeling weak, lacking, or just generally inadequate?

We can only survive on adrenaline, caffeine, and willpower for so long. And thankfully, we don’t have to.

We have Jesus.

When we are running on fumes, we need His power. When we are weak, He provides His strength.

Why do we forget?

My life has been one of throwing myself at His feet for the really hard stuff (cancer, job loss, a daughter diagnosed with juvenile diabetes—to name a few), but then sweating the small stuff on my own.

When I wrote out this life-giving, hope-in-Him verse above from Isaiah, it occurred to me: this is the Gospel! Right here in the OLD Testament.

It’s God providing for us what we can’t manufacture or whip up on our own.

We need Him. We need Him for the life-altering challenges and the daily irritations. The big stuff AND the small stuff.

Whether today’s hard thing is emotional or physical, spiritual or medical, financial, vocational, or relational, let’s remind one another that He is the source of our power and His strength is ours for the asking.

When we come to Him for salvation, we must first acknowledge we need saving! The Gospel begins with admitting our need for Him … confessing that, as John Newton put it so perfectly,  “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

And the same is true for our growing in sanctification—living and abiding in Him after we are saved. Asking for His strength means admitting our weakness. Asking for His power means acknowledging I’m on empty.

As women of God, we know we can’t achieve eternal life on our own. So why do we think we can hope to navigate living for Him on our own? We don’t have to! And why would we want to?

Need strength? Need power? Just ask! Our God is a giving God:

“He gives power to the weak,
and to those who have no might He increases strength.”

Can I get an amen?

We continue with Laura’s series of teaching videos from her Bible study in I Kings.

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