Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Forgiveness

What Does it Mean to Forgive? Episode One: Wisdom to Heal

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What Does the Bible Say About Forgiving Others?

Has someone offended or hurt you, and the wound is still occupying mental real-estate in your heart because you can’t seem to forgive and let it go? Many women want to do right by God and forgive, but they struggle with what it means to forgive. Resources and sermons tell us to forgive, but they don’t define it. The truth is, forgiveness is a complex topic that is often oversimplified, creating more confusion, and preventing us from applying God’s remedy to heal our wounds. But when you carefully consider the entire counsel of God, you can find clarity to the complexity of forgiveness, equipping you with powerful wisdom to treat the wound God’s way and get your freedom back! Diving deep into the Word this summer to discover what it means to forgive is the goal of our summer podcast series. Listen each week this summer and gain God’s wisdom to handle offense and heal your hearts. It’s time to move forward! ONWARD! (Want more? Read Genesis 37 and 39-41)

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She Was Powerful . . .Because She Forgave

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The wound in her soul was hidden to her eyes but not to her heart. The hurt continued to haunt her life as it seeped out of her soul and stepped into her thought life. No matter how hard she tried to forget what happened, her mind automatically reached into her soul and retrieved the repressed hurt, replaying it again and again. The wound owned her, and it was growing bigger even though her offender was miles away. 

She wanted to be free. She felt powerless.

“Just forgive,” she heard her pastor say. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one each other just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

 But what IS forgiveness? Instead of this advice bringing freedom to her soul, it often brought frustration. She was tired of being a doormat others used to wipe their feet. But she had to do something. Her buried hurt emotions were building to the point of breaking her.

This struggle is my story. Is it yours too? Who doesn’t struggle with forgiving someone who hurt her heart?

Opposed to our human nature and often misunderstood, forgiveness is a hard concept to grasp. Forgiveness is not saying what happened was okay. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting what happened. Forgiveness does not mean trusting the person . . . but it does mean trusting God to handle the situation. 

Forgiveness is letting go of your right to retaliate by releasing your offender to God.

If you retaliate, you are allowing your offender to control your life. If you repress your emotions or deny them, you’ll swallow that anger and plant the seed of bitterness in your soul. Revenge, repression, retaliation . . . they all put you in a prison. But releasing the offense to God allows the GREAT I AM to control your life. And with that release comes freedom.

Being real about your hurt and bringing that pain to God opens the door for healing. Showing love to your enemies dissolves your offender’s power to hurt you because it confirms God is in control of your life.

When you release others, you open your hands to receive from God, the only One who can redeem and restore.

God wants you to be powerful, not passive. But godly girl power does not rest in revenge—it rests in love. Love is a powerful force and puts God in control instead of your offender. Forgiveness carves a path for the mighty river of God’s love and power to flow to you—and through you to others! 

God has a great purpose for your life. He wants you to spend your energy, your purpose—not dwelling on buried hurts or revenge, but focusing on his purpose for your journey. Focusing on God’s purpose for your life is an essential, effective way to live. You are not responsible for your offender’s actions, but you are responsible for how you respond. God saw what happened to you. He is not asking you to say what happened was okay—but he does want you to turn it over to him. 

For you to be okay, you must treat the wound his way.

When you retaliate, your offender is in control. When you respond in love and forgiveness, God is in control. Forgiveness carves a path for the mighty river of his love and power to flow.

Who will rule your heart? Your offender . . . or God? God never gives us a command without promising the power to walk that truth. On your own, this love is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  Don’t let your offender steal your power one more day. Wounds are never easy to deal with, – just for today take the first step…bring God your willing heart.  

She told God she was ready to forgive. She didn’t want to, but that was okay. God wrapped his arms around her and told her if she was willing, he would help her. It was a process and didn’t happen overnight. But when she let go of the painful relationship and released that person to God, a door opened in her soul. Redemption came in and healed the raw wound in her heart. God redeemed all that had been lost in ways beyond anything she could have ever dreamed.

She was free. She was fearless. She was powerful . . . because she forgave!

(Jesus said the truth will set you free. At Treasured Ministries we believe that two of the biggest barriers to forgiveness are misconceptions about forgiveness and how to practically put this command into practice. To discover more about this topic listen to these two podcasts.

“Forgive But Not Forget” by Beth Vogt
“How to Forgive” by Carla Ross

Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 4:24-32

How to Forgive

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Forgiveness can be frustrating when figuring out exactly how to put it into action. But when someone gives you a road map, you can take steps of faith aligned with truth to find freedom and live in peace as God intended. For 35 years, Carla Ross has taught on forgiveness and today she shares her insight that will equip you like never before. Oh my, did I discover some amazing new revelations on forgiveness inside this interview! Listen in today and share with a friend.

Carla is currently on a sabbatical from Meredith College. She is working on researching the most important steps to forgive and writing a manual to guide individuals through the forgiveness process. She is honored to be working with Dr. Everett Worthington, the world-renowned scholar and publisher on forgiveness.

You can connect with Carla by emailing her at 70x7Counseling@gmail.com.

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Let It Go!

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Whether the disciples knew it or not, as they gathered around the table to take part in Passover, their meal symbolically portrayed what Christ would accomplish on the cross in a matter of hours. Jesus paused on his pathway to the cross long enough to prepare his disciples for the hours that would follow. The events of the next days would test their faith.

It is significant that Christ was crucified on Passover. The Israelites in Egypt provided their own Passover lambs to save their households, as God had instructed. But Christ himself became the Passover Lamb for the whole world—without defect because he was without sin (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Bible says that we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish or sin (1 Peter 1:19).

Isaiah 53 describes Christ as our Lamb who would bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, and be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. His stripes would bring healing; his chastisement would bring peace. And his soul would be made an offering for sin. When we come into the new covenant, we can rest in Christ!

God rescued the Israelites from slavery when they put the lamb’s blood on the door. Jesus rescues us when we put our faith in his shed blood.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we apply the blood of Jesus Christ over the door of our heart by putting our faith in his finished work on the cross. The shed blood of Christ rescues us from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the dominion of darkness (Colossians 2:8–15).

Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7).

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Renewing our minds gives us the power to put our rescue in Christ and releases our old life to take hold of the new. That’s godly girl power!

Read the following out loud:

Jesus took all my sin and gave me a right standing with God. Jesus took all my sorrows and gave me his joy. He took all my anxiety and gave me his peace. Jesus took all my shame and allowed me to hold my head high. He took all my weakness and gave me his mighty strength through the power of his Spirit. He gave me the armor of God for protection against the enemy’s attacks (Ephesians 6:10–18). He took all my sickness and depression and healed me body, soul, and spirit (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53). He crucified my flesh and gave me the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). Everything that Jesus has, all that his name means, all that his life represents, is mine. He lives inside me. Because of him, God has invited me to eat from his table and share in his Son’s inheritance.

Spiritually, Jesus broke the power of sin in my life. He took my religion and gave me a relationship instead. He took my fear and gave me love (1 John 4:18). He bound up my broken heart (Isaiah 61:1) and proclaimed my freedom. Jesus took my filthy rags and adorned me with a robe of righteousness and a garment of praise (Isaiah 61:3). The curse of the law is broken (Galatians 3:13). And now I am free to have the power of his Spirit (Acts 1:8) and choose to walk into a new way of life.

Treasured one, find godly girl power in our Nourish Scripture this week as we remember our rescue so we can release our old life to take hold of the new. See you for the Treasured Tribe Talk on Thursday!

Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24

Forgive but Not Forget

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Do you ever battle in the belief that you are an unforgiving person? Do you ever find yourself revisiting the same painful issue with an offender in your mind over and over again – questioning if you have forgiven the person who hurt you?

In today’s podcast, special guest Beth Vogt explains how understanding the difference between vertical and horizontal forgiveness changed her life. Listen to today’s podcast and find release from the self-doubt of the forgiveness struggle, and discover what your responsibility is inside forgiveness and what is not your responsibility to carry.

Award-winning author Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, The Best We’ve Been, the third and final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releases May 2020. She transitioned to writing women’s fiction because she enjoys delving into the complicated dynamics between sisters, mothers and daughters, and friends.

Connect with Beth at her website, bethvogt.com. You can sign up for her monthly newsletter and receive a free e-novella, and find out more about her upcoming release, The Best We’ve Been, that delves into the complicated relationships between sisters.

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How Does God Heal a Broken Heart?

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The Bible says that the Lord “heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).  Treasured One, do you believe these words today? 

There is an enemy of your soul who wants you to doubt these faithful words of God. But today, his lies are going to be exposed and you are going to walk away with the understanding that power of God heals a broken heart. 

How Our Hearts Break

There are many reasons why our hearts become broken. Behind every reason are words. Words matter. They carry a tremendous amount of power. While we’d like to think “words can never hurt me,” or don’t carry any weight, yet this often is not the case. In fact, hurtful words roll off the tongue of someone and hit the drumbeat of our souls. 

That drumbeat starts a pattern of negative thoughts. When we’ve experienced wounds from words, they can continue to haunt us, causing us to feel…

  • Insecure
  • Worried 
  • Fearful

When left untreated, the unseen scars repeat the hurtful words over in your mind like a broken record. The “You ares” you’ve heard spoken over you become the “I ams” for which your soul beats. 

But there is good news, Treasured One. God’s words are more powerful than your past, or the whispering lies of the enemy in the present. Connecting to God’s Word is what begins to heal our broken hearts. 

Good News—God Heals a Broken Heart!

To start healing from a broken heart, fill your mind with God’s Word. Understand this is a process—a process of identifying the lies, agreeing with God’s Word, and renewing your mind on His truth every day—moment by moment. 

Because God heals a broken heart through His words, here are 7 promises from God for you to meditate on today…

  1. “’I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.’”—John 14:27 (emphasis mine)
  2. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”—Proverbs 3:5-6 (emphasis mine)
  3. “’And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.’”—Ezekiel 36:26 (emphasis mine)
  4. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”—Psalm 34:18 (emphasis mine)
  5. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”—2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (emphasis mine)
  6. “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.”—Isaiah 43:18 (emphasis mine)
  7. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”—Romans 8:28 (emphasis mine)

Here’s How God Heals a Broken Heart

  1. God Heals a Broken Heart as We Are Aware of Our Thought Life

The more time you start spending in God’s Word, you will see glimpses of his glory inside this broken world. As you read passages—such as Ephesians 1:5 that says you are predestined for adoption through Christ, or Romans 6:6 that says the old self was crucified and is no longer a slave to sin—stop and identify the lies you’ve been told that say otherwise. 

The thoughts that go against God’s Word are begging for your attention. This is why 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to destroy proud obstacles that keep you from knowing God. These negative thought patterns keep your heart broken and from seeing glimpses of God’s glory. 

But when we surrender our thought to God, healing begins to take place in our souls. 

  1. God Heals a Broken Heart When We Embrace Our Identity

Our identity in Christ is the key to your offensive weapon inside the battle of your heart. Your identity speaks words into every thought you have. This is why you must renew your mind and affirm your identity every day. 

As you may know, this is a key element of the Nourish Bible Study Method. We write down and affirm who God says we are, and we declare who He is. This shifts our thoughts to “forget about the past,” as the Lord said to Isaiah (Isaiah 43:18), because it is nothing compared to what he is about to do in your life. 

Aligning your identity with Jesus is like an eternal thread that connects you to heaven. The Holy Spirit’s voice will become louder in your life, leading you into healing and purpose. 

  1. God Heals a Broken Heart When We Agree with His Word

As God affirms our identities, the enemy will attempt an attack. At that moment we have a choice. Will we agree with…

  • The words from our past?
  • The words from the enemy?
  • The Word of God who gave you a new heart?

Whichever words you agree with will be the ones that rules in your thought life.

Treasured One, it is time to take hold of the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and speak truth over your life. 

Beware—The Enemy Seeks to Attack the Heart That God Has Healed

This is important to understand: The enemy seeks to attack what has been healed. When you are tempted to fall back into negative thought patterns or to declare self-deprecating words, go back to God’s Word!

There is a battle for your heart. As much as there is a God who loves you, there is also an enemy who plays a tune, knowing the drumbeat of words in your past, waiting for you to start walking in tempo with it. 

But when you acknowledge the pain, identify the lies, and surrender it all to Jesus, God’s words will begin to restore and heal your broken heart. 

Know that this journey of faith isn’t easy, but it is blessed. Healing always starts with surrendering. Do you want to connect to the One who is faithful to heal?

Then start by surrounding yourself with his life-giving Word. Get the Nourishing Your Heart E-book today. It is a free resource from Treasured Ministries that walks you through each step of the Nourish Bible Study Method and shows you how to rely on the Holy Spirit for healing.