Aliene

Faith perceives the invisible and depends on God to achieve the impossible.  

But faith always has an object. Oh, my how the devil would love for us to miss this detail! 

I did for many years as I put my faith in people and not the Lord. This created people pleasing, a lack of boundaries, and a lifestyle of codependency camouflaged by “helping others”. 

The problem was not with the people in my life, it was with my perception of those people. 

What is at the center of your faith? 

A Closer Look at Faith

Let’s take a look at faith itself. The Bible tells us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is complete trust. Believing in something we can see and understand does not require faith.

Faith is complete confidence in something or someone we cannot see or necessarily understand.  

Every day all of us act by faith in something or someone. What we believe drives our actions and determines our steps. I don’t understand how flipping a switch can turn my lights on, but by faith I flip the switch and the room lights up. If I don’t have faith that the lights will turn on by using a switch, I will never flip the switch and will fail to see the light. Although the power source is there, I will live in the dark.  

Our Savior is our power source. His power is always available. But we won’t experience his power in our lives unless we “flip the switch” by trusting him. By having more faith in his power than in our own abilities or understanding. By having more faith in him than in what we see. “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).  

Walk by Faith

The object of our faith is as important as the depth of our faith.  

If I trust a water faucet to turn the lights on, my house will remain dark. If we trust anyone or anything other than Jesus with our lives, we will live in frustration and never become all God has designed us to be.  

In our Nourish Scripture this week Jesus asks Peter an important question:

“Who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29) 

I imagine Jesus must have held Peter’s gaze as he posed this question to the disciple who had left his nets to follow him. The adventure that began the moment Peter dropped his nets was amazing for him.

I wonder if during the time between Jesus’s question and Peter’s response, memories of miracles played back through Peter’s mind. So much had happened over the last months. Walking on water, healing the sick, feeding the multitudes. The living water surged freely. Divine provision and restoration flowed from the compassionate hands of this carpenter. Peter’s response came quickly and simply:  

“You are the Christ.”  

Those days were great and glorious, but Jesus knew the cross was on the horizon. If Peter based his faith on what Jesus did instead of who he was, offense and unbelief could invade his heart when trouble came. Looking deeply into Peter’s soul, Jesus was inviting him to search his personal convictions and define his faith.  

Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

“Who do you say I am?” Allow that question to linger in your thoughts. Peter was already a disciple, but Jesus paused to ask him about his personal faith.  

Jesus invites you to explore your heart. He says you are his beautiful, beloved bride, but who do you say he is? Your answer is of utmost importance to a sure foundation of faith. Turn your eyes to your heavenly husband. Listen to his heart as he calls you to search yours.  

Years later under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter wrote his second letter “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (2 Peter 1:1). Faith in Jesus is precious. “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).  

Jesus is eternal and everlasting. 

The name above every name.

The Bread of Life, the Light of the World.

Our Anchor in the storm.

Emmanuel—God with us.

Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End.

Jesus is our strength when we are weak. He is constant and never changing, an anchor of hope (Hebrews 6:19).  

Our faith in Christ alone is fundamental to experiencing his power in our life. We “live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20 AMP). Rest your expectations in Jesus alone and watch your faith rise above your circumstances. 

Nourish Scripture: Mark 8 

To experience Christ’s power, you must have faith. Discover how you can connect with God’s Word and transform your life by downloading Nourishing Your Heart. 

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Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Generational patterns are not our fault, but they sure do pull us away from becoming the woman God created us to be…

Often, we stay stuck in these patterns because they are familiar and we are unaware that they even exist. Like a drumbeat creating a rhythm for our soul, our subconscious pulls us to react out of our past identity instead of responding to our current reality as a child of God.   

Often we become frustrated because we try with all our might to fix our behavior instead of changing what we believe. Ahhh… but part of the privilege of becoming a child of God is that you CAN create new patterns and leave a legacy in your family for years to come.  

Finding the resilience to rise up and break free from generational cycles will take grit to walk by faith in ways that go against the grain of past generations.

But one day at a time, one step at a time you can leave blessings in your wake for generations to come.  

Walk by Faith

Faith requires GRIT to go beyond generational patterns to be the first to bless future generations. 

• Patient perseverance
• Optimistic resilience
• Reckless love for new life

In our Nourish Scripture this week, a Gentile woman’s faith in Jesus persisted for the life of her dying daughter, and ultimately provided a catalyst for walls between Jew and Gentile to fall (Mark 7:24-29). Steadfast, immovable faith in Jesus – determined drive to find a way to partake of Perfect Love. A Gentile woman kept “outside” with bold faith gained acceptance inside the circle of eternal life, wrapped in the arms of Perfect Love.  

Sometimes walking by faith means we have to leave limits of what we have lived with to walk by faith in Christ to create new legacies. 

To experience abundant life, this woman on the outside would break current glass ceilings with optimistic resilience faith in the Lord and usher in a new season. At the end of her resources, her determined faith would connect with the Living Fountain from which healing and an abundant harvest for others would flow. 

Women have a beautiful ability to hold onto our faith before we see the harvest because we are created to nurture.

We forge forward with bold, brave persistence that believes new life is possible when our circumstances suggest otherwise. And this patient perseverance to walk by faith is a necessary element to see the seeds of God’s Word grow and create a harvest to nurture others. 

“And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” Luke 8:15 NLT 

Clinging to God’s Word with determined faith brings healing to our hearts and an abundant harvest to nourish others.  

Cultivate This Calling

While God calls women to nurture life, cultivating this calling is a challenge as the enemy of our soul seeks to destroy new life.

Our children struggle.

Our marriages see difficulties.

Our hearts are broken.

We face health challenges.

Disappointments seek to dilute our faith, and our brave hearts break under the weight of an imperfect world. 

Where can we find the courage to cultivate optimistic resilience for reckless love?  

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT 

Looking back at the many women before us who arose and carried hope into hopeless situations will help to bring bold faith to believe what we cannot yet see. The Gentile woman who persisted in her request is an example of great women who have gone before us to make a difference by believing in perfect love. 

• Patient perseverance
• Optimistic resilience
• Reckless love for new life 

Faith is contagious. There is personal truth that only the Holy Spirit can reveal. As we daily rise up with GRIT to challenge those past patterns, we will align our thinking with our birthright. This is walking by faith.

Nourish Scripture: Mark 7 

Do you want to discover the personal truth that only the Holy Spirit can reveal? Download Nourishing Your Heart and receive guidance on how to connect with God’s Word to transform your life. 

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Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Every woman matters and is valuable to God. Yet often life speaks a different story to our hearts, and we find it hard to believe God’s truth about who we really are. Our compass to navigate life shifts away from our Creator and moves toward outside sources, slowly pulling us away from living the authentic faith-filled life God created us to live. 

But Jesus invites us to live differently by seeing differently.

Walking by faith in his Word, written on our hearts through the Holy Spirit, we can discover the truth to right the tide and return to our authentic purpose.  

Walking by faith is a lifestyle that carries principals which often contradict what we perceive with our natural eye inviting us to see differently. 

Over the next three weeks in our Sweet Sixteen series, we will review important principals on what it means to walk by faith. 

Walk by Faith

See a lack of resources as an opportunity to build your faith and create an abundance mentality so your actions can bless many.

Splashed all over this week’s Nourish Scripture are signs of a Savior who cared for those around him. From Jairus’s daughter to the blind man, Jesus paused in his travels to relieve people from suffering. He called his disciples away for the time of rest they needed (Mark 6:31). When he sent his disciples out, he blessed them supernaturally to empower and equip them for what they would need to fulfill their calling (Mark 6:7). He looked out over the crowds that were following him and fed them spiritually and physically. When they ate, all were satisfied. He met their needs.  

But also, in our Nourish Scripture this week, Jesus could not perform miracles around the people in his hometown because of their lack of faith (Mark 6:5). These verses struck me to the core this week… 

Is there any area of unbelief that is limiting Jesus’s work in my life?  

How a Scarcity Mentality Develops

Sometimes when we are lacking resources our faith can waiver and a scarcity mentality surfaces creating fear. A scarcity mentality says what I have is not enough. But what if these circumstances were provision to build our faith and create an abundance mentality, so that our actions could bless many?  

Limited resources open a door to depend on Jesus and build your faith. 

Many times Jesus will lead us into circumstances where we have little and will ask us to do a lot. He asked the disciples to feed thousands with five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:38). When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, he asked them to travel lightly. “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic” (Mark 6:8-9). Often the Lord will send you out with little in your hands—little talent, little time, little treasure—to teach you to depend on him. In this way, he shows us and teaches us how to live with moment by moment faith and trust in him.  

Jesus is the bread of life and compared himself to manna (John 6:35). Manna was the daily food the Lord provided to the Israelites in the wilderness. God used manna to teach the Israelites to depend on him daily and —that he would meet their needs.  

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” Deuteronomy 8:3-4  

Have faith that God loves you, cares about your needs, and wants to bless you so you can be equipped to bless others (Philippians 4:19).

Jesus is a giver. He is generous in his very nature. Just as he cared about the people during his ministry on earth, he cares about your cries and sees your deepest needs. His love knows no bounds.

Place your faith in him. He will meet your needs—in his way and in his time.  

Nourish Scripture: Mark 6 

It can be hard to believe God’s truth about who you really are. Download Nourishing Your Heart today and discover the key to connecting to God’s Word. 

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 Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Our Nourish Scripture this week is one of those weird passages that makes me squirm. Mark chapter five sits you square in front of evil.  

“When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.” Mark 5:2-5 

I would rather forget about the pain the prince of darkness causes inside of this world.

I would rather not watch the news.

I would rather not hear another story of a woman’s broken heart at the hands of abuse. 

But evil is a reality inside our broken world. To look away …does not make evil go away. Rather our Lord calls us to face evil with the force of his power and overcome evil with good. 

Far beyond what we can see there is a battle going on. And while the weight of evil in our broken world can make us feel powerless, we are not.

You are never powerless when you belong to Jesus. You do not fight alone.  

When we stand under Jesus’s strength through faith, we align with his power.  

“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world”. 1 John 4:4 

“The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

Receiving God’s Power

When faced with a battle, we can be tempted to put on the armor of the world, to fight with the world’s battle plans. We try to take the reins of life, fighting our way to take power the world provides to fix things. We can see our source of power from seeking possessions, positions or people. 

These are just some of the worldly ways we sought to find power from external sources when we felt powerless.  

But now we belong to Jesus, the Shepherd, and overseer of our souls. He invites us to receive his power by standing in his mighty strength (1 Peter 2:18–25).  

Sharing the gospel is our precious privilege but one that the enemy of our souls would love to shut down. If he can get us so wound up and worn out fighting our battles the world’s way, we may become so discouraged, distracted, and directionless that we stop sharing the gospel altogether.  

Embracing Your Godly Girl Power

Godly girl power is God’s all-surpassing power. This is different from worldly power.

• Worldly power is outward control dependent on other people and things and focuses on self.
• Godly girl power is the inner strength of a woman led confidently by God to walk in love and live for his glory no matter what circumstances she faces. 

Love is the most powerful force and that is what Godly Girl Power is all about. 

Looking inside Mark 5 can cause confusion just like when we confront evil in our own personal lives and the lives of those we love. However, inside this passage we find confidence and keys to align with God’s power and fight his way.  

Christianity that requires courage—instead of Christianity that demands comfort—requires that we stand in the strength that only God can provide. ONWARD! 

Nourish Scripture: Mark 5 

Learn how to THRIVE on God’s Word and embrace his power by downloading Nourishing Your Heart!

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Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.