Cross My Heart Ministry

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely
so that
you do not forget the things your eyes have seen
or let them slip from your heart
as long as you live.
Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
Deuteronomy 4:9

“Watch yourselves,” the scripture says. A call to self-awareness. The passage carries a serious tone, a warning to be careful. This is weighty stuff that highlights a sobering reality.

Moses was reminding the people to not forget all they had witnessed. You and I were not there on the banks of the Red Sea. We didn’t see it miraculously open to provide a way through as Pharaoh’s army closed in … but we have seen God provide. We see His work in creation. We behold His provision in His Word. We know He is working in our lives now as He did then.

All this must be treasured up in our hearts. And what is in our hearts overflows into our lives.

What happens as we think on it, marvel about it, sing it out, and live it out? We remember, and others learn. Specifically, the next generation—our children—must hear and learn. We must teach them about God! Our stories must be told.

The danger does not seem to be that we will consciously kick out the truth or reject the truth, but that we just drift from it … wander away. Become distracted. Allow the statutes of God to slip from our hearts.

Have we individually and corporately forgotten about all God has done?

Has the “wow” of your faith disappeared?

Is the proverbial honeymoon with God over?

Wake up!

If you find yourself stuck in a spiritual rut, then put it in reverse: go back, remember, ask God to reignite your faith. And then tell it. Proclaim the truth to others. Teach the next generation about our glorious God and all He has done in your life.

God, forgive our forgetfulness.

Stir up our hearts to never get over wonder of the Gospel.

We want to always be wowed by Your truth, Your love, and Your provision.

Holy Spirit, draw us back when we drift. Woo us back when we wander. Direct our hearts and minds when we become distracted.

Keep us ever in that sweet spot of knowing we are safe and secure from sin’s grip, fully known and fully loved.

And give us courage and conviction, as You compel and equip us to tell and to teach others—especially our children.

O God, You are great and You are good!

Our Write the WORD bookmark for August showcases the word TEACH – perfect as we launch a new school year and think about passing on our faith to the next generation. You can download your copy here. And before you say, “I’m not a teacher,” please check out our video introducing this month’s bookmark (link below) and consider how your life teaches others (and should teach others) about Jesus.

“Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him.”
II Timothy 2:11

My Bible footnote shares that verse 11 of II Timothy, chapter two, is the first line in what is most likely the lyrics to a song sung by the early church. (Read verses 12-13 for the full stanza!)

When the early church sang “died with him,” they were looking back to the Cross. When we accept Christ as our Savior, our old sin nature is crucified with Christ. Sin’s debt – the result of my sin and yours – was paid in full at the Cross.

The power of the Cross is supernatural, divine, and too wonderful to be fully comprehended.

We must meditate on it.

We must marvel at its implications.

We must remind ourselves of the eternal significance of dying with him.

Do not allow that marvelous truth to become stale! Seize hold of it! Remind yourself to remember it, sing it, proclaim it, and rejoice in it!

The Cross changes everything!

At the moment we receive Christ, sin is gone. It is evicted from our hearts and its consequences deleted. We are forgiven.

The Cross was an historical event, but its power reaches forward in time, bringing eternal consequences. The timeless result of this event is perfect atonement for my past, present, and even future sin.

Let that truth settle in. Even if you embraced the Gospel years ago, ask God to stir your affections today. Ask Him to keep your heart tender to the reality of the Gospel. Express gratitude for your salvation. Let it amaze you. Every. Single. Day.

The benefit of walking with Jesus for many years is that maturity brings a greater awareness of the depth of our depravity. We can sing with another hymn writer:

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

The Gospel is marvelous. It is wonderful. And it flows to us all because of our Savior’s great love.

Aren’t we grateful it is indeed a trustworthy saying?

The old Laura – and the old you – died with Him. But that means that from those ashes arose a new Laura. One indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Because the old Laura died with Him, the new Laura gets to live with Him … and she gets to live for Him! Her life is no longer defined by hidden shame. No more condemnation. No longer weighted down by the guilt. She gets to live FREE of it all because she gets to live LOVED.

What does it mean to live knowing you are loved?

• It means freedom.
• It means no holding back.
• We can follow His prompts.
• We can take risks to reach out.
• We can release our time and treasure.
• We can forgive those who have hurt us.
• We can lay down our fear.
• We can live a little like Teflon – accusations and insults don’t stick to our hearts!

Today, let’s worship Him with grateful praise! Let’s unite our voices with our first century brothers and sisters as we, too, sing aloud the glorious truth of II Timothy 2:11.

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

Friends, let’s start living with Him and for Him!

Five times in Scripture Paul wrote, “This is a trustworthy saying…” He shared four of those with Timothy and one with Titus. In our Friday video devotional this week, Laura unpacked another one of these. You can view her teaching from I Timothy 1:15 here:

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“Whoever can be trusted with very little
can also be trusted with much and
whoever is dishonest with very little
will also be dishonest with much.”
Luke 16:10

It’s human nature to want more — more power, more responsibility, more money, more authority, more…everything!

But like the old saying goes, we need to crawl before we walk. Youthful enthusiasm (or arrogance) may prompt us to demand more before we’re actually ready. We become ready for more by proving we can be trusted with little.

To be trusted with a resource (power, responsibility, money, authority, etc.) means we steward it well. And stewarding a resource must begin with a vital acknowledgment: it’s not mine.

We may refer to the job as, “my job” or the money as “my money,” but the reality is that the ability to do the job, the money in the account, and the opportunity to complete the education   — all of it, ultimately, is the result of God’s grace and mercy.

When we begin to look at everything we have and everything we are as coming from Him, it becomes very natural to use those gifts for Him.

And when that mindset has settled in, the amount of power, money, and responsibility becomes less important. What really matters is our faithfulness to use whatever amount we have been given.

To whom much is given, much is required.

Do you see yourself as a steward or an owner?

Here’s a challenge: try to avoid using the pronoun “my”— no more my house, my job, my bank account, or my abilities. Ask God to prompt you to see all these as His resources, simply on loan to you.

God, how do you want me to use your car today? How can You and I work together to use Your kitchen table? How do you want me to spend Your money?

If you want more, try stewarding what you already have for His glory!

Have you seen Laura’s latest teaching video? Watch now as she shares her thoughts on how love prompts us to trust — and what that means in our personal relationships:

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“Trust in him at all times, you people:
pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Psalm 62:8

The Psalmist instructs us to trust at all times.

“All times” includes:

• Times of plenty and times of want
• Times with and times without
• Monday morning and Friday night
• Anxiety and peace
• Debt-free and bankrupt
• Benign and malignant
• Rough waters and smooth sailing

All means all.

Life tells me that believers run to God in times of difficulty but tend to “drift” when all is well. Has that been your experience?  Looking over my shoulder, I note that the times of greatest challenge correlated to the times I felt the closest to God.

That prompts me to ask myself, Why?

Why do I run to God when I’m hurting, but am prone to wander when all is well? Do I unconsciously think I don’t need God? Has life lulled me into complacency?

One benefit of repeating the cycle a few times (i.e., living long enough to earn some gray hairs) is that we finally “get it.” The proverbial light bulb goes on – or maybe we just finally grow up enough spiritually to see that ordinary days prepare us to face extraordinary days. As I cultivate a heart that trusts God on a normal, relatively easy Tuesday morning, it prepares me to trust Him when everything breaks loose on Thursday afternoon.

Choosing to abide in Christ today is the best preparation for the surprises that will come tomorrow. I trust Him today with the easy stuff … so I’m ready to trust him with the harder stuff to come. It becomes habit-forming. Like stocking water bottles and changing flashlight batteries in the tornado closet, it prepares me for the crisis.

Over and over and over again, God has proven He can be trusted. He is trustworthy. He can be counted upon. He never sleeps or slumbers. He is my rock and refuge – my go-to at all times.

What do you need to spread out before Him today? In what area of life do you need to pry your clenched fingers off the burden and place it on the altar, asking Him to carry it for you?

How are you trusting Him today? How do you need to trust Him? And will you trust Him?

Have you seen the latest YouTube devotional video from the Cross My Heart channel? I hope you’ll take a moment to watch, as I unpack Psalm 4:5 and share thoughts about “right” and “wrong” sacrifices.

We’re only a few days into this month’s Write The WORD study. If you haven’t already, I invite you to download the free July bookmark and optional S.O.A.P. study pages, and jump in today as we continue reading, writing, and studying verses about TRUST.

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
Psalm 25:2

Even in a time of great suffering and affliction, David begins his worship with a declaration of his trust in God: In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 

What if we chose to do the same?

How easy it is to declare our trust after the crisis, after the provision, after God has answered our prayers, and after He has provided all we need.

It requires little faith to declare we trust Him after—but a great deal of faith to trust in advance (and in the midst) of the crisis.

Perhaps it is a mindset that comes as we are refined by the fires of life. Each new challenge brings a new level of trust. As we stand on the threshold of today’s challenge, we look back at God’s provision in the past and are bolstered to declare (again) with David:

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.

Whether today finds you in the middle of struggling with a hard thing or coming out of a time of struggle, we know this:  more hard things will come. That is the nature of life in this world. Our Jesus gave us the heads up, “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Our Write the WORD bookmark for July highlights verses with the word TRUST.  As you read, write, reflect, and pray over each one this month, I pray you will each day make it both your prayer and your declaration:

Lord, help me trust You more.
Lord, in You I put my trust.

Did you catch last Friday’s teaching video? I hope you’ll take a moment to watch it now, and follow along as we unpack Exodus 14:31 to learn how holy fear prompted the Israelites to trust God.

Visit our Downloads page for your free copy of this month’s Write The WORD bookmark and (optional) S.O.A.P. study pages. And be sure to check out the Cross My Heart YouTube channel tomorrow, when Laura will be introducing the July ‘Do It’ List!