Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Treasured Devotions

Facing Fear

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Imagine yourself running a race. Your focus is on the finish line, but along the way your thought-life creates confusion. Your inner voice begins to say, “You better stop running … you might hurt yourself.”

Or you hear, “Was it really your idea to run this race?”

  • Or “Don’t go any farther—this next leg is too hard for you.”
  • Or “Come down this path. It’s the easy way out.”
  • Or “I don’t think you can trust the markers you see for the course are correct.”
  • Or “I think those people watching you are laughing at you because they don’t think you are any good.”
  • Or “Remember when you failed! You better not try again!”

You can stop, listen to your thoughts, and quit … or you can choose to take those thoughts captive to finish the race.

Keep Your Eyes Fixed on Christ

The race we are running is to follow Christ. Our eyes should be fixed on him.

God told Joshua not to turn to the right or left, but to follow God in order to be successful (Joshua 1:8). Turn to the left or the right in fear, and you are in danger of quitting or becoming distracted from your goal—a life completely surrendered to Christ.

The enemy works inside our thought-life and his calling card is fear. He is the father of lies. The enemy cannot steal your salvation, but he will do everything in his power to take you out of the race by tempting you to quit by confusing your thoughts.

Thoughts become beliefs that ultimately drive our behavior. Pay attention to your thinking and meditate on God’s truth to remain steadfast.

“And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed.” (Joshua 1:8 MSG)

God told Joshua to meditate on truth and that same tool is just as effective for us today.

I am not a warrior like Joshua trying to conquer enemies in the Promised Land, but I am a busy wife, mother, friend, and ministry leader with a desire to live in the direction of my God-given purpose. Just like you, I have distractions and disappointments that have the potential to derail me. In my busy world where my mind is prone to wander, biblical meditation continues to be the tool that gives me the ability to take my thoughts captive so that I can stand firm in my faith.

As an anchor exists to secure a vessel so it ceases to wander, God’s Word secures our heart to Him no matter what waves of fear we may face during the day.

God’s Word Is Our Weapon in Facing Fear

Jesus drew from the Scriptures to defeat Satan’s manipulative tactics of temptation so that he could stand firm (Matthew 4:1–11). Similarly, God’s Word is our offensive weapon in the battle against the enemy of our soul. As you face battles during the day, be like Joshua and Jesus.

Stand firm by strengthening your mind to the truth in his Word.

Talk back to your fearful thoughts with truth and derail the enemy’s tactics. This will require work on your part. Brave hearts armor up prepare for battle by renewing their minds to truth, memorizing scripture and speaking it out loud. (To see how to put this discipline into daily practice, check out the lessons on Renew Step 21 Day Challenge)

God was counting on Joshua to be courageous, and God is counting on you!

Courage means following God despite our feelings of fear and insecurity. The Bible says that Joshua was “terrified” and he “trembled.” Brave heart, it’s ok to feel fear – it’s not ok to follow fear.

God promised Joshua he would be with him and give him victory, but it was up to Joshua to replace his fear with faith in his Lord.

It is the same for us.

Our actions can be driven by faith or by fear—it is our choice. Our choices flow from our thought-life. Biblical meditation is God’s prescription to renew you mind. Fill your mind-truth and watch your courage soar!

Nourish Scripture: Joshua 1

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.

Your Past is Preparation

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Often our past experiences can prepare our hearts for our Promised Land purpose. Life can be our greatest classroom, as it was for Joshua.

How Joshua’s Past Prepared Him for His Purpose

The Lord had been preparing the successor of Moses for his calling for many years. Although we cannot pinpoint his age exactly, Joshua was likely at least eighty when he led the Israelites into the Promised Land.

In the years prior, he had been a slave in Egypt, a servant to Moses, a spy in Canaan and an appointed leader of the Israelite army. Delivered from the Egyptians, walking through the parted Red Sea, and defeating the Amalekites, Joshua experienced the power of the living God and saw he could trust God.

Joshua’s faith, without reservation, resulted in many victories for the Israelites in the Promised Land.

I believe it was the forty years Joshua spent serving Moses as his aide, however, that prepared his heart the most for his new role.

Servanthood Allows Us to Grow Spiritually

Brave hearts know that in order to be a good leader, they must first learn to follow. Servanthood gives us an opportunity to grow spiritually because it redefines success by measuring it in faithfulness.

God leads us through a process so that our platform will be used for his Purpose. He leads us to that beautiful place of freedom where we realize our purpose is for stewardship—not ownership.

Joshua never forgot the meaning of servanthood, even after he became a leader. He continued to speak of himself as a servant of the Lord (Joshua 5:14).  The deepest place of surrender is a well of joy that fills the heart greater than any worldly goal.

Where is God calling you to serve, brave heart?

Brave hearts find freedom to pursue God’s purpose with bold faith by letting go of worldly goals and seeking only heaven’s reward.

Seek Heaven’s Reward in Serving the Lord

Serving requires sacrifice.

Sweat. Tears. Risk.

It requires making ourselves vulnerable. The enemy of our souls resists God’s will for our lives; he may cause us to fail and fall, which could result in bruises and bumps along the way. The results our sovereign God desires are not always what we think.

When fear has a tight hold on us, it can eclipse our faith in God. Fear and faith play tug-of-war with our hearts. But when we let go of the ropes of such things as worldly success, fear loses its grip, and the force of faith wins.

To let go and run with unwavering endurance, look up and seek only heaven’s reward serving the Lord alone.

Nourish Scripture: Exodus 17:8–16

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.

Believing Hearts Become Brave

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Have you ever felt a longing inside that leaves you thinking there must be something else in life?

In the daily busyness of life that creates a predictable mundane rhythm, sometimes that longing is drowned out, but the desire never really leaves you. At night or early in the morning when life is still, you still have that child-like faith that knows there must be something more.

I’ve been there. The daily rhythm of my life was not without God. Church, Bible study, prayer, and serving others was a part of the drumbeat of my weekly life I loved dearly.

But the life with Christ I was exploring through church and Bible study was miles apart from the life I was actually experiencing. I read about abundant life in Christ, but I was not experiencing it.

Can you relate?

Not All Experience the Promised Land

While in the wilderness, Moses sent out twelve spies, including Joshua and Caleb, to explore the Promised Land and bring back a report to camp. Although all spies explored the Promised Land, not all experienced the Promised Land.

Ten of the spies brought back a bad report because they feared they would not have the ability to conquer the giants and strong cities in the land. Unfortunately, the Israelites listened and believed the bad report of the ten spies rather than to God’s promises; consequently, they reacted in fear. In fact, they actually reasoned life would be better for them back in bondage in Egypt and sought to stone Caleb and Joshua.

The greatest tragedy was that they explored the Promised Land but never experienced it because of unbelief in their hearts.  (Hebrews 3:19).

Whatever voice we agree with will grow the loudest in our hearts, and this will ultimately drive our direction.

Caleb’s report did not deny the existence of the giants. Rather, he saw the giants in light of the truth of God. This gave Caleb and Joshua courage.

Willing to believe differently, they  lived differently. They saw their life through the lens of their knowledge of who God is; so by trusting God, they pursued the Promised Land with passionate faith.

They saw adversity not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to push their purpose forward by trusting in God with whom all things are possible. As a result, God said that Caleb and Joshua had hearts that whole-heartedly followed him:

“ But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”(Numbers 14:24)

Brave Hearts Believe God

“A heart that whole-heartedly follows God” is our definition of a brave heart. Simply stated: brave hearts believe God, experience the Promise Land, and lead others to do the same.

A brave heart walks by faith in God and his Word, but not necessarily by what she sees.

A brave heart finds courage and direction to become the woman God created her to be.

Oh, she still feels afraid when adversity arrives, but understands  the source of her courage and strength comes from looking at life through the lens of who God is. She does this by believing the voice of truth over the enemies’ lies taunting her to fear. Her heart is determined to believe God. In doing so, she invites others to do the same.

Your brave heart is needed in this world to fill it with the love of Christ.

Do you hear it, brave heart? It’s the voice of your Savior calling to you.

Take his hand and become the woman God created you to be. Life is very safe inside sanctuaries and Bible studies, but you were created to go beyond just exploring your Promised Land, as the spies did. You were meant to experience your spiritual inheritance, and the difference between the two is largely a matter of the heart.

Nourish Scripture: Numbers 13–14:25

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.

A Call to Courage

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Hey there, brave heart!

Yeah—that’s you!

If you and I grabbed a cup of coffee and talked long enough, I’m sure we could share stories about times when we found ourselves alone, afraid, and unsure. We could tell about times when other people’s choices—or our own—hurt us. Ours is an imperfect world with imperfect circumstances and imperfect people—and life happens. We would like to control everything and everyone so we won’t get hurt, but we can’t.

In the past, I tried to fix my broken heart with inner vows, which I viewed as formulas to fix and control my world so I could find freedom, redemption, happiness, and peace. Sadly, all such formulas eventually fail us. Mine did. But in the failing, I found this truth that would ultimately set me free: healing my broken heart could never come from inner vows or rules I keep, but from a Redeemer I follow.

Jesus turns broken hearts into brave hearts one step of faith at a time.

Becoming a Brave Heart As You Follow Jesus

Brave heart, did you know when you became a child of God at the moment of salvation, that was just the beginning of your journey? As you follow Jesus, he’ll unravel those false formulas that provided no rest for your soul, and lead you to experience the abundant life you were created to live. I too am still on this beautiful, lifelong journey.

Our past wilderness seasons should not be allowed to become permanent walls that eclipse the liberty and love that flow from obeying the Holy Spirit. Freedom is not a destination; rather, it’s a journey of living as we are led by the Holy Spirit to become all God created us to be. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there are liberty and love (2 Corinthians 3:17; 1 John 4:8).

Just as it was time for the Israelites to leave the wilderness and follow Joshua into the Promised Land, it’s time for us to understand in greater measure what is holding us back from becoming all God created and redeemed us to be.

Welcome to Excerpts from Brave Heart, the next series from Treasured Ministries on the book of Joshua. Inside the series you will:

  • Understand how patterns of unbelief influenced by your past can impact your thinking and create obstacles to becoming the woman God created you to be.
  • Gain powerful biblical methods to change your thinking and walk out your God-given purpose.
  • Discover how to embrace your core authentic identity and live the abundant life Jesus died to give you.
  • Walk through the book of Joshua to find truth to nourish your heart and direction for your own Promised Land Purpose.

Who do you know that would benefit from this study? Invite friends to come along!

Ready to move forward into your Promised Land? Don’t look back! Live with impact by letting the Holy Spirit lead you to the liberty and love your heart was designed to experience—and to pass this along to others.

I am looking forward to taking this journey with you, brave heart!

Blessings,

Aliene

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.

Extraordinary In His Eyes

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Have you ever felt like God could not or did not see you? Like He has forgotten you and does not care about your circumstances?

Have you ever doubted God’s goodness? 

Have you ever questioned God’s love for you?

I have. When we are in the midst of difficult circumstances the enemy loves to whisper doubts about our God’s goodness, power, love, and the truth of His Word in order to strike fear into our hearts.

Believing God’s Promises

In Genesis 22:18 God promised Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his offspring. In Isaiah 9:6-7 the prophecy is made that a child will be born. A child that will reign on David’s throne from that time on and forever.

Hundreds of years later David’s throne sits empty and Abraham’s descendants are being ruled by the Roman government. I am sure God’s people wondered if He had forgotten His promises.

In Luke 1:46-47 we find Mary full of joy and anticipation. She cannot contain it. It flows out of her in the form of praise to the Lord.

 “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

 For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.

Mary realizes that God has not only been mindful of her but has done great things for her and from then on all generations would call her blessed. The time had come at last. God was keeping His promise to show mercy to His people through Jesus, who would be born to Mary.

He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful. 

For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

In Mary’s Song of Praise we can take encouragement. Just as God was mindful of Mary and remembered to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants He is mindful of you and I. Listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 12:6-7

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Look for the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

If God even knows the number of hairs on our heads we can be assured that we have value to Him and He is attentive to every detail of our lives.

He sees us.

He will bring deliverance to us.

He will care for us in this life, but ultimately as believers we can count on spending eternity with Him.

An answer to a long prayed prayer, the prodigal that returns to the Lord, provision for that need, comfort in our sadness, relief, and rest are just a very few examples of God’s extraordinary mercy and deliverance we receive daily in this life.

Pay attention to God’s eternal extraordinary by looking for the mercy and deliverance of God in the ordinary circumstances of your own life.

When you see them, like Mary, you will be a spring bubbling over with joy flowing out of you in the form of a magnificent song of praise to the Lord.

Nourish Scripture: Luke 1:46-55

Blog written by Sandy Jones. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Sandy Jones is the author of Mixed Up Melvin. She was born and raised in North Carolina and currently lives in Cary with her husband and three sons. After a prodigal experience and learning many lessons the hard way, Sandy has a passion for bringing the Word of God to life. She loves to teach and explain to other’s the things she has learned experiencing God’s Word for herself.

To learn more about Mixed Up Melvin click here.

Friends Giving

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She began to practice friendship again. And practicing friendship meant that although she did not do it perfectly every time, she continued putting herself out there, taking proactive steps to the beat of God’s principles. And with every step she found others who were looking for this kind of connection.

Sharing her life with people in this way brought her heart great joy.

Hiding in her safe harbor had only hindered her heart. Carrying God’s love to others out in the great expanse of the ocean with her sails lifted high is what she had been created for. Confident in God’s direction for authentic friendships, she knew she could trust the Holy Spirit to navigate her through stormy seas.

She would no longer seclude herself and hide her heart.

She believed she was worthy of love, and when she lived this way she invited others to feel the same. Authentic friendship pushed her to be vulnerable and real with others, but this was an adventure worth taking.

The Joy in Practicing Authentic Friendship

I hope you have enjoyed this Authentic Friendship series from Treasured Ministries. Deep connections bring life to our social media saturated world. Practicing authentic friendship is a beautiful gift to share!

This is the truth: You can have deep connections ordained by God himself! You are worthy to be loved. To belong. But you must practice . . . you must put yourself out there . . . and you must do it God’s way.

As we close out this series today, I pray you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I definitely learned so much in writing these devotions! Our advent series starts next week. Going with the flow of the Authentic Friendship series, I asked friends to help me write this next one—and can’t wait to share it with you.

Also, the videos for the Nourish Bible Study Series are now online. YAHOO! We are so excited to share these with you and hope you will consider starting one of our studies in the New Year.

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.

Chasing the Chosen Few

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There is a sense of safety that comes from having a large spanning group of friends, and while it feels good in the moment at a large party or loud meal, I personally have found them to always leave me wanting more.

I believe there is a risk we run when collecting acquaintances rather than seeking out and pursuing true relationships.

And that is not to say that big groups of friends are a bad thing, but rather to suggest that we take the time to truly seek knowing the people that are around us and tighten up our inner circles.

Large Groups Are a Safety Net

Large groups feel a lot like a safety net. When I first got to school I found myself running around desperately seeking people to put on a mental list of meal time loneliness deterrents, and how selfish that was of me to do.

People are not collectibles, they are not simply the means by which to avoid isolation, they are souls and stories, and they should be cherished as such. Rather than give only the small shallow parts of ourselves to many, why not share the deepest extents of our dreams and passions to a chosen few?

And who are these chosen few?

  • They are the small groups of unlikely friendships made possible only by the love of the father.
  • They are the circles of women finding strength in vulnerability and peace in the honesty of others.

These are groups made of women you seek out, and women that seem to find you somewhere along the way. And these are the groups to cherish.

These groups take work, they take hard moments of honesty and intentionality beyond any other friend group.

The word “Foster” is defined as to “encourage or promote the development of something, typically regarded as good.” If we are to foster these small groups, it takes intentionality in chasing after those in it. It takes going out of our ways to love them more than we love ourselves. And what you sow into these friendships you will reap tenfold.

And that is the beauty of the small group, when you chose a select few to love properly and receive love from in return, you have more love to give and deeper bonds to make.

Finding the Chosen Few

How do you find these special women?

It begins with reaching out and opening yourself up to finding friends. But sometimes this not easy.

Insecurity can keep us silent. Slipping in and out of church doors without saying a word to those around we might shy away from what could be life-changing friendships. However, we cannot live our lives blaming our loneliness on others not coming directly to us and reading our minds. You find things by seeking them out, so do that, pursue what you know your heart needs!

Chase after those few that God has chosen to grow you alongside, and when you find them, be filled with the wisdom and love they have to offer, and pour right back into them.

Abandon the insecurities that tell you to chase endless shallow friendships and rather prayerfully seek the deep connections and accountability that can be found in a small group.

Leading the Chosen Few in a Small Group

Where do I begin?

One way to begin is by starting a Nourish Together Group.

Nourish Together Groups are women coming together weekly to pray, share a meal, and discover truth using the weekly Nourish Scripture.

If you are interested, we have a  free online resource called the Nourish Together Leader’s Guide.  Find all the tools you need for your journey, including our step-by-step plan to get you started.  Even if you are not ready to commit – but you just want to find out a little more – this is a great way to just learn more before stepping out. Click here to learn more about Nourish Together.

Nourish Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Blog written by Millicent Phillips. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

The Courage to be Vulnerable

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Without authenticity, there is no vulnerability.

Without vulnerability, there is no intimacy.

Without courage to be authentic, the connections God created for you cannot happen.

Everything you are—your authentic self, your story, your imperfections, your fears, your dreams, your past,—all God has created you to be is a beautiful pearl to treasure and share with those who value your whole heart.

The Extraordinary Results of Anchoring Together

Formed by adversity of sand and surf, true pearls are imperfect, yet they carry great value to those who understand, appreciate, and respect the journey of this jewel.  When a pearl comes out of its shell to connect with other treasures, something special happens.

A pearl alone is a beautiful treasure, but when anchored with other treasures on a strong strand, the results are extraordinary.

Similarly, when we are authentic with one another and held together by God’s agape love, we find the true connection God created us for.

But great courage is required for this true connection. Experience has taught us to fear bringing our real selves to the table.  Perhaps that deep desire for connection deceived our hearts and we made bad decisions to share our treasure with those who had no empathy or because of their own pain could not value our journey.

  • We shared our story but felt shame from others.
  • We put ourselves out there and failed.
  • We loved greatly only to be rejected.
  • We trusted and were betrayed.
  • We lived and we were labeled.

And so we falsely believed we were not enough. We stopped really living. We hid. We shut down. We made perfection our goal to shield rejection. We stayed on the surface and had many acquaintances but nothing deep.

In our shame, we pulled others down to prop ourselves up. We swung between the two extremes of hiding or trying to hot-wire connection by giving our pearls away to those who trampled on them.

Opening Your Heart Takes Courage to Be Vulnerable

Opening your heart again to community after you have been hurt or betrayed takes a tremendous amount of courage. I know this from personal experience. I know how the fear of rejection can paralyze your heart.

And I also know from experience that stepping back into a healthy biblical community one baby step at a time is a vital part of healing.

Part of that journey for me was walking in close fellowship with a small group of women in my Nourish Together Group. They carried trust and had the courage to be vulnerable with me. When this happened, my soul relaxed, and ever so slowly my shell opened and my true self . . . my story of failure . . . my fears . . . my imperfections fell inside the safety net of their trust and agape love.

The courage to share your pearls wisely and find true connection comes from embracing your core authentic God-given identity and inviting others to do the same.

Why is this a solution?

Join me for Facebook Live on Wednesday to unpack this truth deeper so you can become brave with your heart and carry trust to help others open their shells and share their pearls.

Nourish Scripture: Jeremiah 1

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.