Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Good Shepherd

He Sees You

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You’ll make it through this—oh yes you will. One step of courage at a time.

His eyes are on you. Jesus knows the hairs on your head. He sees the tears fall. He knows the storm in your life.

He knows—his eyes are on you and he will fill you with courage and strength.

His Eyes Are on You

  • They are the eyes that watched Mary when she walked forward to anoint her King.

As the disciples bombarded her with insults and condemnation for her extravagant offering, she continued her focus on Jesus, honoring him above all else. He silenced her accusers and spoke highly of her offering. Her bravery, born from the steady endearing gaze of her Savior, propelled her forward.

  • They are the eyes that waited patiently for the Samaritan woman by the well.

Jesus knew everything about her and loved her anyway. His eyes saw right through her defenses, her cycles of unhealthy relationships—to her heart and soul. He knew everything about her. He understood her and saw great potential in her. Because his eyes looked at her differently, she began to see herself and others through his eyes of love.

  • They are the eyes that saw Hagar in the desert.

Alone. Afraid. Abandoned. No husband to protect and provide for her. One greater was watching with divine protection and provision. He saw her. He knew the whole story. Hagar exclaimed, “You are the God who sees me!” His eyes were enough to prompt her to let go of her past and move into her future.

  • They are the eyes that traced the steady stream of tears that fell from Mary Magdalene’s anxious eyes.

Her heart searched for her security. “Where is my Jesus?” Although he stood before her, at first she did not recognize him. With his words, he wiped those tears away, opening her eyes to see him and gain the security that stilled her soul.

You Must Press On

 Press On when others don’t believe in your calling. . . . His eyes are on your every move and are a conduit of His strength. What you have to offer is needed and necessary to this world.

Press On when you are alone, afraid, and abandoned. . . . His eyes are on your every move. His provision and protection are perfect.

 Press On to see yourself the way he sees you. . . . He wants to direct you into truth to set you and those around you free.

 Press On in trials—better yet, embrace them. . . . Faith trusts when we can’t see and looks for his Word to wipe our tears away.

He sees you, brave heart. He knows you, beloved. He hears your cries, beautiful. Praise his name. The King of Glory sees you. Nothing in all creation is hidden from his sight (Hebrews 4:13). Keep your eyes locked on his through worship and prayer. Keep moving even in trials, one step at a time.

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Nourish Scripture:  John 20:1-18

Discover how to connect with God’s Word in a way that transforms the way you live. Download Nourishing Your Heart today!

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.

False Shepherds

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The men threw her before the crowd—she had been caught in the act of adultery. Her dignity died, and fear eclipsed her heart. Pulling the blanket she had grabbed from her crime scene tightly around her shoulders, she was barely able to cover her nakedness. However, she could find nothing to cover the awful shame that settled in her soul.

Wanting to defend herself, the woman tried to find words to tell the crowd she had been trapped, but her throat, thick with fear, would not allow the words she screamed in her mind to escape. These men carried great titles as Pharisees and teachers of the law. She knew that as a woman, her defense was useless.

 She was completely vulnerable… until Jesus defended her.

 The Good Shepherd stood between the woman and the false shepherds to intercept the stones he knew were coming. He purposefully stooped down to write in the dust. The Good Shepherd’s fingers made patterns in the sand and perhaps created words. Like a welcomed pause between the thunder claps in a horrible storm, whatever he wrote stilled her angry accusers for a moment.

 The false shepherds were Pharisees, and teachers of the law. Their voices returned and demanded an answer.

 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” John 8:4–5 NLT

 The woman shivered at the thought of the stones.

 Her only hope rested on the man before her who was writing in the sand. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried make out what he was writing, but it remained a mystery.

 The man arose with gentle strength and carefully chose his words.

 “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” John 8:7 NLT

 A stillness hit the air as silence filled the crowd. The woman was stunned. A man she had never met seemed to know what really happened—as if he could see inside her heart and theirs. He stooped down again to draw in the dust as one by one her accusers dropped their heavy stones and slipped away.

Many Women Have Been Hurt by False Shepherds

Have you ever been hurt by someone who carried a title inside of church and it caused you to struggle with your faith? Me too.

The greatest hurt I have experienced came from church leadership. And as I have ministered to women over the years, I have learned I am not alone. This may have happened to you or someone you love.

Wounds from church leadership are very devastating because they can confuse our relationship with God. When I was hurt, my relationship with God suffered because I mistakenly assumed that the way I was treated was God’s heart toward me.

Many women after being hurt at the hands of church leadership want nothing more to do with God. I can relate and truly understand.

But the truth is that the Bible speaks of shepherds and false shepherds on many occasions in both the Old and New Testaments (Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 34; Jeremiah 3:15; John 10; Matthew 18:6; Acts 20:20–31; Matthew 7:15).

There are shepherds after God’s heart who love and treat women the way Jesus treated women—with great love and respect. However, there are also false shepherds who abuse their power, twist truth to manipulate, condemn with their words, and play on the strings of vulnerable women.

Most importantly, there is only one Good Shepherd who loves you beyond measure.

Rightly divide the truth.

  • NEVER let a false shepherd define your Good Shepherd and rob you of a relationship with the perfect love your soul is longing for.
  • Just because someone has a church title does not mean you should automatically give him or her your trust.
  • And never give up on the body of Christ. There ARE shepherds after God’s heart. Community is often the place where we can be hurt, but it is also a vital part of our healing and growth.

As our family began our journey back to church, the Lord gave me this promise to cling to. “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15 NLT).

Our family found that kind of church and you can too. Your Good Shepherd promises to lead you with his still small voice.

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:10–12 NLT

Nourish Scripture: John 8:1-11

Discover how to connect with God’s Word in a way that transforms the way you live. Download Nourishing Your Heart today.

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.

Optimistic Resilience

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Patient perseverance. Optimistic Resilience. Reckless love for new life.

Examples of Women with Optimistic Resilience

Two women from different worlds but with the same determined drive find a way to partake of Perfect Love…

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

Two women on the outside with bold faith gained acceptance inside the circle of eternal life, wrapped in the arms of Perfect Love…

  • A Gentile woman’s faith 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).
  • Suffering for twelve years with constant bleeding, a Hebrew woman found healing by simply touching the hem of Jesus’s garment (Mark 5:24–34). Pressing through the crowd despite her fear (fear made stronger by the cultural divide of her gender and old covenant law), she also painted a picture of the new covenant and hope for women to come.
  • Two women with different circumstances but the same steadfast, immovable faith in Jesus.

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

We Are Created to Nurture

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. God created women to nurture life. Part of nurturing is believing in new life before we see new life—to stick with a seed by watering it with faith until we reap the harvest.

I believe this is why God calls women to help him break up the soil when a new season is on the horizon.

What examples these New Testament women set for us!

  • The Hebrew woman who broke through the crowd—and through old covenant for the new covenant.
  • The Gentile woman who broke through the walls that separated Jew and Gentile for Jesus to bring the gospel to all.
  • The woman by the well who was the first to share Jesus with the Samaritans to sow seeds of the gospel in their hearts.
  • Mary Magdalene, chosen to be the very first to tell others of the resurrection—the first evangelistic outreach.

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 bring bold faith to believe what we cannot yet see. The Hebrew woman who pressed through the crowd. The Gentile woman who persisted in her request.

They are two examples of great women who have gone before us to make a difference by believing in Perfect Love.

You Must Nourish Your Heart

Hey, brave heart. What seems hopeless in your life? Where would you like to see a harvest? Where has God planted you, trusting you with a seed to nurture? You must first nourish your heart by watering it with his Word.

Patient perseverance. Optimistic reliance. Reckless love for new life.

During our Following Jesus Finding Life Series, take the next step after you read your devotion by reflecting on the weekly Nourish Scripture. Be inspired by passages describing women who moved with bold faith and found life with Jesus.

  • We’ve provided the link to the Nourish Scripture, so inspiration is one click away.
  • Like our Facebook page and be encouraged with weekly messages.
  • Consider continuing your study by downloading Nourishing Your Heart, which walks you through each step of the Nourish Bible Study Method.

Nourish Scripture: Mark 5:24–34 & Mark 7:24-29

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.

She Followed Jesus

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You matter. Your life matters. You are designed by God to make a difference.

But often life’s challenges can speak a different story to our hearts. Sometimes, they make it hard to believe God’s truth about who we really are.

Jesus invites us to live differently by seeing differently. Walking by faith….those challenges become the very stepping stones to build faith turning broken hearts into brave hearts.

The Women Who Followed Jesus

When Jesus spoke to women in the Scriptures, his words were empowering and life- changing. His words led the women into a place of purpose . . .  into the freedom to become all God created and redeemed them to be.

Whether it was breaking an alabaster jar to anoint Jesus for burial, supporting Jesus from their own means, washing his feet with tender tears, or being the first chosen to share the news that he had risen—women realized that they mattered and that their lives lived for Christ made a difference.

As he captured their hearts with his words, they captured the life they were created and redeemed to live.

The gospel of Luke records a community of these women who traveled with Jesus to take care of his needs as he ministered to others (Luke 8:1-3). As they traveled with Jesus, the words he shared would impact their lives and redefine their future. Walking with him and in fellowship with one another, they stood together steadfastly to live for him, bringing the life-changing gospel message to others.

What a difference knowing his truth made in the way they lived. What a difference it makes in all our lives today. That difference ripples to the lives around us.

Jesus Is Speaking to Our Hearts Today

Jesus is still speaking to the hearts of women. His truth still changes lives, and those changed lives reach out and change others.

This is following Jesus. This is finding life. This is the life you were created to live.

Welcome to Following Jesus Finding Life, the next Treasured Devotions series from Treasured Ministries. In the next twelve weeks you will . . .

  • Build your faith and find inspiration as you walk through the Gospel accounts of Jesus as he interacted with different women.
  • Understand the incredible value God places on women and his true heart for them. Learn how embracing this truth daily can change your life as you walk by faith and not by sight.
  • Discover the differences between “false shepherds” and the “Good Shepherd” so you can travel confidently by following the voice of truth.
  • Be encouraged by supporting resources for your journey, including our podcast.
  • Discern God’s truth for your life with the Nourish Bible Study Method so you can follow Jesus and find the life you were created to live.

God has an amazing plan for your life, and his truth will nourish your heart for the journey. Press forward with God’s dream for your life—one bold, beautiful, brave step of faith at a time.

Forward this email to a friend and invite her to join you!

Let’s do this!

Blessings,

Aliene

Walk through each step of the Nourish Bible Study Method by downloading Nourishing Your Heart today!

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.