Cross My Heart Ministry

I seek you with all my heart,
do not let me stray from your commands.
Psalm 119:10

These words are both a declaration and a plea.

The Psalmist boldly declares with confidence:

I seek you with all my heart…

And then immediately follows with a plea for protection from wandering:

Do not let me stray from your commands.

Centuries later, time and circumstances have changed but the human heart is the same. Our desire to know and follow God is still great. Those of us who follow Him still have the longing to be “all in” — to embrace an all-my-heart conviction.

Both Biblical truth and modern-day colloquialism use “heart” to capture our overriding beliefs and desires. From our hearts spring our thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions. Phrases like these flow in our modern-day conversations:

• Put your heart into it…
• I have my heart set on it…
• My heart tells me…

Then and now, what is in our heart on the inside will eventually be revealed on the outside. Those who follow Christ have the desire to be consumed by God. To be all in. We say, “Amen,” as we link arms across the centuries with the Psalmist and agree with the all-my-heart commitment.

But declaring it is one thing, while living it is quite another.

Embracing an all-my-heart commitment means to reject the divided or lukewarm heart. It means we allow God to be God — not just in our morning devotions, but in our afternoon conversations. He is ruler over not only our beliefs but our behaviors. We yield to Him in our purchasing, viewing, and eating habits. We allow Him to lead out in our relationships, work ethic, and responses to hard things and hard people.

Too often, our afternoon choices fall short of our morning declaration. In my life, God’s way can easily be pushed aside for Laura’s way.

Sometimes I drift. Other times I run.

But I’m always grateful for His love, grace, and mercy that both draw me and welcome me back.

As I have lived out this cycle repeatedly, I’ve learned that choosing to seek God with all my heart is not only a morning declaration — it must be an all-day-long abiding. Continually walking with God keeps me consciously aware of His presence, protection, and power. That awareness brings sweet peace.

It’s not frightening, but freeing. It’s not scary, but sweet. While He is God of the universe, He is my Father, as well. He loves me. I can trust Him.

The continual, throughout-the-day seeking and abiding reassures me that I am safe and loved. It makes “all-my-heart” a transforming lifestyle that fulfills the request in the second part of the verse:

Do not let me stray from your commands.

Truth unfolds. Realization dawns. The connection between seeking Him and obeying Him is revealed: they are the same. If I love Him, I will want to respect the healthy boundaries of His Word.

Jesus Himself said,

Whoever has my commands and obeys them,
he is the one who loves me…
John 14:21

My love for God prompts me to trust Him. My obedience flows from a heart of love, not guilt or legalism. I can obey Him because I love Him and know that He loves me and knows what is best for me. He knows what I do not. He sees all, while I see only in part. I do not have to know everything — I just need to know Him. He is enough.

The principles of God’s Word are not there to rob us of joy, but to give us joy. A focus on rule-keeping makes His Word a burden to carry. But when we focus on loving and pleasing God, His precepts become an easy burden.

Because He is ever faithful, because He is good, and because He is loving, I declare (and I pray) I will seek, serve, and abide with all my heart!We’ve just begun our study in Psalms for May! The bookmark and S.O.A.P. Bible study pages are available on the Downloads page. If you haven’t seen the intro video for this month’s Write The WORD, I hope you’ll take a few moments to watch!

Our ONLINE study of Psalms — based on an excerpt of Psalms of Faith from Joy of Living — will be starting later this week. It’s so easy to join us! Simply download the FREE study guide (compliments of Joy of Living) and visit the Cross My Heart YouTube channel to watch the introduction and weekly teaching lectures each Friday in May.

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“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial,
do not worry beforehand about what to say.
Just say whatever is given to you at the time,
for it is not you speaking but the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 13:11

As Jesus prepared His disciples to go forth and be His witnesses to the world, He also gave them a heads up: expect to be arrested.

“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial,” Jesus said.

Not if, but when.

Our fears of sharing about Jesus might include stumbling over our words, rejection by friends and family, or just an overall sense of awkwardness in not quite knowing how or what to say. But at least (as of today), in America, we need not worry about being arrested and brought to trial for sharing our faith.

Yet one thing has not changed between followers of Christ now and then: the same Holy Spirit indwells us. He will faithfully put His words on our tongues now, as He did for the disciples then.

Our trial may not be with the governing authorities, but with a friend or family member. Have you been there? Have you ever been attacked for your faith? Have you ever been accused of being “holier than thou” … had your motives called into question … had your words parsed … or just accused of being a “bad” Christian for sharing the Gospel?

Of course, the easy way to avoid those confrontations is to stay home and avoid sharing our faith. Keep all conversations safe and superficial. But that choice means we allow fear of people to overrule our obedience to Jesus. For the mature believer who take her faith seriously, the Great Commission assignment is not optional.

Read Matthew 28:19-20. Go means go.

And sometimes, “go” brings consequences. Perhaps the consequences themselves become part of the story God is writing. Perhaps our response to an attack becomes the very thing God uses to humble the hearer. What we may think is a 3-step process (I share, she hears, and God saves) may actually include 100 steps spread out over months or years instead of minutes. We can’t know. And we really don’t need to know.

Our responsibility is to obey – and then leave the timing and the results to God. We need not worry about their response. We need not worry about our own response to their response.

Jesus confirms the role of the Holy Spirit when we are on trial: He will put His words on our tongue. He will give us, in His time, what we are to say. No need to rehearse it or plan it out. Just pray first, then go forth in love and share the Gospel. While we can’t control or even anticipate the response, the Holy Spirit will give us whatever we are to say.

Challenging circumstances offer the greatest opportunity to display our faith to a hurting world that desperately needs Jesus. When our response to an attack is not what is expected, those who hear will take note. When it’s not my words, but the Holy Spirit’s, that come forth:

• Love wins out over anger
• Defense mode evaporates
• Pride gives way to humility
• Faith trumps fear

The supernatural response is the Holy Spirit response. And it is the one that catches the hearer off guard. She takes note. She is intrigued, as she wonders, Why is she not defending herself? And, hopefully, the next question she asks is, “Why?”

My response in times of trial reveals the contents of my heart. Like the proverbial tube of toothpaste, pressure on the outside squeezes out what is on the inside. Hard times are heart-revealers. Our faith is proven real when it is tested under fire.

But come what may, we can count on His words on our tongue when we need them.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

As Jesus ascended into heaven, He reminded the disciples gathered around Him of the Great Commission call to make disciples. The gospel message was entrusted to those present.

His imperative, be my witnesses, was also prophetic: you will be my witnesses.

Indeed, you and I know Jesus as Savior today because of their faithfulness. They were witnesses to their generation … and for 21 centuries since, the baton of faith has been faithfully carried to the next generation. Christianity has never disappeared from the planet. And it won’t happen on our watch!

But Jesus didn’t just leave them with an assignment. He also left them with a plan. Like dropping a rock in the water and seeing the concentric circles ripple out, so would the gospel go forth. It would begin right where they were: Jerusalem. From there it would be carried to Judea, Samaria, and the entire world. But they were to begin at home.

When you and I think of missions, we most likely think of missionaries in Africa or a remote village in the 10/40 Window. We pray for them, send money to them, and love hearing stories from them.

But missions isn’t just “out there” – it must begin “right here.” At home. Our Jerusalem may be Arkansas, Alabama, or Alaska. God may call us to go across the street or across town before He calls us to go across the world.

In many ways, it is easier to take a short-term mission trip and share the gospel with strangers than it is to share the gospel at home. It’s riskier, more challenging, and more difficult to talk about Jesus in our Jerusalem – with the people we live and work with, our neighbors and people who know us.

In fact, we might feel it’s not only hard … it’s impossible.

And that’s why Jesus not only gave us a plan, but the power to complete it: the Holy Spirit. He didn’t leave us to our own devices or natural abilities. He gave us a super power! Holy Spirit power!

In Him and through Him, we can do what we could never ever do our own. We can step out in faith rather than fear. We can open our mouth when we feel like keeping it closed. We can stand and share, when we really want to run and hide. We can love. We can love the unlovable. We can release love when anger or hatred is given in return. We can be relentless, and faithful, and hopeful. We can lean into Paul’s words to the Romans:

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12

The first-century believers were a group of “uns” – they were uneducated and unlikely. No one would have thought a few folks in Jerusalem could change the world. And that would have been true if they relied on themselves to bring the change. But the Holy Spirit brought the power they needed to share the gospel message. And the gospel, as we know, changes everything.

Sharing the gospel is both an obligation and a sacred privilege. Each of us should hear the words Jesus spoke to the disciples then as if He were speaking them directly to us today:

• You will be my witness on Oak Street, Overland Road, and Orange Avenue.
• You will be my witnesses in Missouri, Mississippi, and Michigan.
• You will be my witnesses at home first.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He did not leave us on our own. He sent the Holy Spirit and through Him, the promise of Jesus in Matthew 28:20b is fulfilled:

“I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Are you ready to embrace your Great Commission assignment? Are you ready to rest in the truth you are never alone in that calling? The One who calls you is faithful and ever present with you!

Are you ready to go out? Jerusalem is waiting!

More than half of April still remains and it’s not too late to join this month’s study of the Holy Spirit. Visit the Downloads page to get your copies of the April ‘Write The WORD’ bookmark and S.O.A.P. Bible study pages!

The ladies Bible study in Romans has concluded! If you haven’s yet seen the most recent teaching lecture on YouTube, you can watch it here:

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“And do not forget to do good and to share with others,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Hebrews 13:16

Doing good and sharing with others.

For those who love Jesus, both sound like a natural way to live. We know this. We agree with this. Doing good and sharing are logical behaviors for believers. When our pastor preaches, “Do good and share,” we nod our heads in agreement.

And yet, God thought we needed the reminder: “…do not forget.” Finding this phrase canonized in Scripture means we need it — that we are indeed prone to forget.

We must each ask ourselves, “Am I doing good? Am I sharing?”

Do and share denote action. James confirms in his book, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) Real faith is a call to action.

Often our lack of action earns us the “hypocritical” label from those outside the church. (And, by the way, when that h-bomb is hurled, do not bother to refute it. Anger is defused much sooner when you agree rather than argue: “You’re right. I should do a better job of having an active faith. I want to be a woman who lives my faith out loud, but every day I fail. Would you pray for me?” )

Grace can make us lazy. Righteousness by faith means we do not work to earn our salvation, but it does not mean we don’t work after our salvation. My hubby says, “You don’t bark to become a dog; you bark because you are a dog.”  Translation: You can do good works all day long, but those good works will never save you. But if you are saved, you will work.

Perhaps the next question is, How much is enough?

How far do we go with this “do good and share” stuff?

The writer of Hebrews might answer that question with a question: Are you doing and sharing until it hurts?

Hebrews 13:16 refers to our doing and sharing as sacrifices. And by definition, a sacrifice should cost something. Whether time, talent, or treasure, our doing and sharing should be a sacrifice — not what is left over, not so little it is never missed, not second rate or second best.

In the Old Testament times, something had to die for the sacrifice to be completed. In New Testament times, something still has to die: SELF. Paul exhorts in Romans 12:1, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” He then calls that dying to self, WORSHIP.

The writer of Hebrews agrees, “God is pleased.”

You see, we were created for worship — to bring glory to God. We were created for His pleasure. And one of the ways we do that is by doing good and sharing sacrificially.

Only the mature in Christ among us will do good and share sacrificially for the chief aim of pleasing God.  With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s make this our goal!

Lord, what is the good you want me to do today?
Who is the one you are calling me to share with?
Enable me to do good and share sacrificially …
and may my motivation be to please You!

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
I Samuel 15:22

These convicting words from Samuel to King Saul should pierce our hearts today, just as they did God’s people then. Clearly, our heavenly Father does not define obedience as checking off the boxes and merely going through the motions on the outside.

In God’s economy, motivation matters.

Even in the Old Testament, God’s expectation was not only about keeping the law. Then — and now — God wants our hearts.

The truth above shared by Samuel is confirmed by the writer of Proverbs:

“To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
Proverbs 21:3

“The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.”
Proverbs 15:8

We take on an “older-brother” mindset when we foolishly believe our outward behavior earns us points with God. This attitude quickly spirals downward to an attitude of entitlement: “God, you owe me.” Older brother (and older sister!) types becomes frustrated, resentful, and even angry when hard things come … because they feel like God did not keep His end of the bargain!

The true follower of God obeys Him from a heart of love, not a transactional (“If I do this, then God, you will do that!”) motivation. We must be on our guard to ensure this mindset does not creep in.

Having the right attitude today is no guarantee that our motives are pure tomorrow. We protect ourselves by staying close to God, abiding in Him and in His Word.

And we can always ask, “God, give me pure motives! Show me where I need a course correction or a motivation adjustment. I pray my acts of obedience are motivated by love and gratefulness. I pray that all I do to obey You is a response to what You have already done for me.”

Let’s stop focusing on sacrificing for God, and choose instead to lovingly obey Him.

Did you miss the most recent teaching video from our Romans Bible study? Be sure to check it out!

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Moses said to Aaron,
“Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering
and your burnt offering and make atonement
for yourself and the people;
sacrifice the offering that is for the people
and make atonement for them,
as the Lord has commanded.”
Leviticus 9:7

If the category is Books of the Bible, and the clue is Legalism, every student of the Scripture would answer: Leviticus. It is a book of rules and requirements.

The theme of Leviticus is holiness. Sin required sacrifice for atonement and cleansing, in order to be declared holy. And Leviticus provides all the details: definition of sin, circumstances of sin, sacrifice required, type of animal, method of sacrifice, etc.

The journey through Leviticus is a bloody, exhausting, and sometimes tedious one.

But for us to truly appreciate the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus in the New Testament, we must wade through the sacrificial requirements presented in the Old Testament.

At least five types of sacrifices are listed in Leviticus:

• Burnt Offering
• Grain Offering
• Fellowship Offering
• Sin Offering
• Guilt Offering

Sometimes more than one offering was required. The sin or guilt offering would always come first. Before the worshiper could be free to commit to God, the matter of sin had to be resolved. Sins of omission and commission, intentional and unintentional sin … all required a sacrifice. The requirements of the law must be met before righteousness was achieved.

For that same day, perhaps just for that moment, righteousness by sacrifice brought holiness. Freedom from guilt. Cleanliness before God. The burden of sin lifted momentarily, but it did not last. Sin the next day or week or month meant another sacrifice. And another. And another.

The law could not save God’s people. The repeated sacrifices could not keep them holy. All of it was intended to point to their need for a Savior — to stir their hearts with longing for the promised Messiah, who would rescue them forever from the bondage of sin.

How blessed we are to live this side of the Cross! What freedom to be defined not by what we have done, but by what our Savior has done for us. What JOY to know we are declared holy for this day and for every day.

As we approach the celebration of Easter, may we be sobered by the truth we find in Leviticus: something — Someone — had to die to make us holy. And may that reality prompt grateful praise to Jesus … our Passover Lamb, our once-for-all sacrifice, our hope for eternity.

Hallelujah!

It’s not too late to join us as we explore verses about SACRIFICE in this month’s Write The WORD study. CLICK HERE for the Downloads page, where you can find printable bookmarks and S.O.A.P. study pages for to guide you through the March Bible study.