In this week’s Martha Monday video, Laura’s back with another yummy recipe! You will want to RUN to the store to buy lemons and ricotta cheese to make these scrumptious cookies. You can watch the video below … but the recipe is available for download if you visit our YouTube channel and find the link. We hope you’ll subscribe while you’re there!
“Fix” only has three letters, but we use the word in many settings and contexts. We fix breakfast. We fix a loose cabinet handle, a misspelled word, or a missing button. We fix our eyes on the sunset. And, for those of us who live in the South, we even use it describe what we are thinking about doing: I’m fixin’ to fix breakfast.
Mr. Webster provides shades and nuances for understanding the little word, fix:
: AFFIX, ATTACH
: to set or place definitely
: ESTABLISH
Our Creator used the word fix in Deuteronomy 11:18-19. instructs us on what to do with His Word:
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;
tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and
when you get up.
Is God’s Word fixed in your heart and mind? Is it attached, set, and established there?
God instructs us to:
Our hearts and our minds control our thoughts, attitudes, actions, motivations, and behaviors. If our hearts and minds are saturated with the Word of God, it will naturally flow forth to impact every part of our lives and those around us.
While some take the phrase about symbols literally — as in the Jewish practice of rolling and tying written scriptures on the wrist and forehead — most believers embrace a more figurative interpretation. One certainly would not forget something that is tied to the wrist or put on the forehead.
Perhaps it also suggests that if God’s Word is on our foreheads, it will shine forth and light our way and if it’s on our hands, it colors every act of love and kindness extended to others. Seeing it this way prompts me to pray that others see Jesus in the steps I make, and the actions I take.
The final instruction in the passage is to teach God’s word. Note the order here. We must first own it ourselves before we can hope to teach it to our children.
Note also that God even provides the proper pedagogy for doing the teaching: it’s on-the-job training or as-you-go teaching.
This method is both lifestyle and lecture. It is as you go (at home and on the road) and it’s all day long (when you lie down and rise up). You teach it by speaking it and by doing it.
Christianity is always one generation away from extinction. We must be faithful. Truth has never perished from the Earth. There has always been a remnant in existence to share with the next generation. And it must not stop on our watch!
It may be your own children or grandchildren. Perhaps it’s the young adults living next door. Maybe it’s a niece, nephew, or even young ones at your church. Whoever God has brought into your life to teach, I urge you to love them enough to fix God’s Word on your heart and mind first, so that you are ready to teach them (and model to them) the Word of God.
Laura’s latest teaching video features insights on how the words of I Kings 8:35-36 — part of King Solomon’s prayer as he dedicated the Temple — applies to modern-day living. We hope you’ll take a few moments to listen!
Have you signed up for the Cross My Heart mailing list? Our subscribers receive an email each time Laura publishes a new blog post on our site. Sign up today to join us!
Just in time for the back-to-school season, Laura shows you how to make your own fast, easy, inexpensive dry erase marker board — customized to fit your space and your needs. Watch this week’s YouTube video to see how it’s done!
“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?
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:
Have you subscribed to the Cross My Heart Ministry email list? If not, we invite you to take a moment to sign up today! We will never share or sell your contact information, and as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to know when Laura publishes a new blog post.
Today, we’re taking a break from the regular schedule to look back at one of last summer’s most popular videos! We hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch as Laura shares a favorite recipe for a quick and easy summer pasta salad … and be sure to visit the YouTube channel to download the recipe!
“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:
If you haven’t subscribed to our email list, we hope you’ll sign up today to be among the first to know each time Laura publishes a new post!
Are you a blood donor? It’s an easy way to make a big impact. With the events of the last year, the need for blood has never been greater. In this week’s Martha Monday video, Laura shared thoughts about the importance — and some surprising benefits — of donating blood:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him,
so that
you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Overflowing hope. Hard to ponder the magnitude of what that means. Hope on steroids? Hope beyond imagination? Hope that defies the imagination?
Perhaps it is all that and more. And it can be ours … it is ours!
This overflowing hope is one of the many by-products that come to those of us who trust in Him.
To trust in God is to rely upon Him.
To trust in God is to believe Him.
Trusting God changes everything. It brings peace and joy. It secures our destiny for eternity. It brings salvation—making us safe from the danger of our sinful nature.
If you trusted Him for salvation on that day in your past, you have a confident hope for that day in your future.
But what about this day—the middle part? What about the present? Is today just a waiting period that connects the salvation from our past to the glorification awaiting our future?
Not according to Romans 15:13. Read the above verse again. Our today, in this world, brings joy and peace to those who trust Him.
As we lean into trusting Him, we can simultaneously release the fear that bubbles up. We can let go of our need for validation or even justice. We can stop putting ourselves first. We can return kindness for rudeness. We can give mercy in lieu of meanness. We can love our enemy and turn the other check. We can be like Jesus. Because He has filled our heart with hope and peace and joy…we can let hope and peace and joy flow forth.
God, you are the God of all hope. It is in You alone that we have hope for eternity and hope for today. I trust You with my future and I trust you with my today! Fill me with your joy and peace. Fill my heart and mind with overflowing hope. I pray my trust in You will overrule my fear of what today brings. You are in my heart…and I choose today to let You lead out in my responses.
For more teaching on trusting God, be sure to view Laura’s devotional video from Friday, inspired by Romans 4:5. You can view it on our YouTube channel here:
Are you receiving emails from Cross My Heart Ministry? Our subscribers are the first to know when Laura shares a new post on the blog … and we never, ever share (or sell) your personal information! Click here to sign up today!
In this week’s Martha Monday video, Laura shares her top 10 tips for your making your car — and the time you spend in it! — as functional and organized as possible:
What was your favorite ? We’ve love to hear! Leave a comment and let us know!
