Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Truth

Shine

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Once surrounded by the shadows of shame from her wounded heart, the dark cloud of depression settled above her hiding light in her life. She felt heavy. Dark thoughts echoed in her head from the way she was treated.  Seeking relief from the pain from shame, her temporary fixes only gave short-lived relief and slipped her soul into further darkness.

But then one day, someone shared the light of Christ with her. This Light pierced through the pain to see clearly beyond the words that wounded her heart and eclipsed her thinking. This light was powerful. The darkness could not overcome this light (John 1:4-5, Ephesians 5:8-9).

Jesus. The light of the world. Jesus carried both grace and truth to the world – to her. She saw herself differently. She saw God differently. He was love and truth. 

The life of Christ awakened inside her and changed her completely. She found herself singing songs of praise and her heart found the beat of joy again. 

Much like the light of candles that grow in a Christmas candlelight service as light is shared from one candle to another… someone brought this light to her, and now she wanted to make the most out of every opportunity to share this light with others.

At first, she was confused because she felt if she held out truth, she had to let go of love. And at other times she felt if she held out love, she had to let go of truth. 

However, the Lord showed her truth defined love and love defined truth. It was not truth OR love. It was not one or the other. Both were needed, but in order to create the right balance, instead of hanging onto one or the other… Jesus told her– hang onto me by holding on tight to the Holy Spirit. As you are led by the Holy Spirit you will walk in love and truth so that they intertwine to create just the right current to carry my light to a dark broken world.

And as she was led by the Lord, a pattern of love and truth came so closely together that others saw the light of Jesus shining brightly in her. 

Love and truth find perfect balance as we are filled with the Holy Spirit to share the light of Christ.

Light overcomes darkness. That’s godly girl power. Shine brightly. Love bravely.

ONWARD!

Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-20

Exhale

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True confidence flows from knowing that the greatest gift you can bring to the world is becoming the woman God created you to be. Part of this journey is confidently embracing your God-given spiritual gifts and understanding that he gave you these gifts to empower you to love others and share truth with them. That is true humility.

Step out of the shadows, brave heart. Come away from the sidelines. Who told you that hiding is humility? God has given you a spiritual gift to share. You have something to offer. That gift was given TO you but it was not FOR you. Hiding it is not humility. Hiding keeps you from using your gifts to help others.

Your purpose is a pathway to sharing God’s love, and our spiritual gifts are the vehicle to take us along that path. The Holy Spirit breathes ability into us and as we exhale, the life of Christ is shared and fills the world with his love. (Ephesians 4:4-10) 

Sadly, I believe we are often taught to hold our breath in the name of humility, but nothing could be further from the truth. False humility forgets about God’s power and paralyzes us with fear. 

Sharing your spiritual gift with others breathes the life of Christ to them. Your voice is valuable and can make a difference in the lives of others. (Ephesians 4:12)

The people in your life you are called to love are worth it. Let your love for them motivate you to move beyond your fear.

Sometimes I argue with God and hide.  . . . Who am I to serve you? What about past failures? I am not good enough. I am inadequate. I am afraid of failing!

And then other times, I stop trying so hard to BE and just surrender and rest in the power of the GREAT I AM. I am not called to create light—I am called to reflect the light of Christ by listening to and being led by the Holy Spirit. But when my heart is tuned inward in false humility, my heart is not facing the right direction to reflect his light. Focusing on your inadequacies brings attention to you instead of Jesus.

Fan the flame of your spiritual gifts by facing the other way. Turn it outward by taking steps this week to use your gifts to touch others. Find freedom to become all God created and redeemed you to be by letting go of fear to fan into flame your spiritual gifts for his glory.

I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:6–7 NLT, emphasis mine).

God’s provision, including your spiritual gifts, flows to you and through you so you can glorify him and love others. God built you to accomplish his purpose for your life (Deuteronomy 7:6; Ephesians 2:10). He imparted spiritual gifts to you the moment you accepted Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4–11 and Romans 12:3–8).

The way you are wired—your personality and passions, your character and natural abilities, and your spiritual gifts—is part of God’s provision for your God-given vision . . . not something to hide.

Different spiritual gifts flowing from the Holy Spirit provide just what you need for what God has called you to do. The diversity in our gifts creates the need for us to link arms with one another to share his good news. And as we stand together, our gifts fit perfectly (Ephesians 4:16). And as each one of us does our special work, like instruments playing together in God’s orchestra, we will make beautiful music that sings of the glory of God. But if we hide our instruments, the music simply isn’t complete. 

You matter. God designed you to make a difference. Embrace your spiritual gifts and allow them to grow. Step into the stream of godly girl power by using your spiritual gifts to touch others and fulfill your God-given purpose.

Weekly Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-16

Emotional Strongholds

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Like a strong unforgiving riptide, emotions can carry us in a direction we don’t want to go. Yesterday I faced challenge after challenge. I felt frustrated. I felt overwhelmed. The wheels came off the bus…I cried! My whirling emotions distracted me and resulted in a most unproductive day. Can you relate?

Sometimes feelings are not kind friends. They can steal away our godly girl power if we are driven by our desires instead of directed by the Holy Spirit. 

Nothing makes me feel more powerless than when I face an emotional stronghold. A strong force of emotions welling up in us stirs up a commotion. Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Frustration. Think about those moments when you lose your temper or respond unkindly to someone. 

I want to be a wise woman that walks not under the power of my emotions but by the power of the Holy Spirit. If my emotions are in the driver’s seat, how can I be led by the Holy Spirit?

Paul gives a strong warning to the Ephesians about letting our emotions have control. This is a warning I need remind myself of each day. Emotions can make me feel powerless, but praise be to God because of Jesus I have another choice. I no longer have to live imprisoned by my emotions but empowered by the Holy Spirit!

“All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” Ephesians 2:3-5

But let’s get honest. Strong emotions are impossible to avoid, aren’t they? Emotions aren’t bad. You’ll always have them. They make us human. God gave us emotions. They are a part of our soul. God had emotions also. But when our emotions become strongholds in our life, when they are in the driver’s seat of our decisions – that’s when they can create problems. 

Emotions alert us to needs within our soul, but they are never a reliable source of truth.

You see, we serve a God who loves us and wants us to be led by the Holy Spirit so we can fulfill the God-given purpose he planned for us long ago. But we also have an enemy that would love nothing more than to distract us and derail us from doing what God wants us to do. And he loves to create emotional strongholds in our life by using just the right lies to create that current to pull you away from your purpose. I know this. I’ve been there.

The world thinks of power and freedom as the strength to do whatever we want. But in God’s economy, power and freedom come from walking in obedience to God for his glory. Freedom is not following our desires and doing whatever we want to do. It is being a wise woman and being led by the Holy Spirit.

I want to be wise – don’t you? 

The truth is, brave heart, we are not going to stop feeling those emotions—and that is not our goal. Our goal is to find ways we can face those emotions and remain steadfast to do what God has called us to do. The big choice is this: Who will be in the driver’s seat, my feelings or the Holy Spirit?  

  • Bring your emotions before Jesus and get help. You don’t have to hide your emotions and try to handle them on your own. Bring them to God, brave heart, and gain his perspective to walk in the truth. Let’s get wise by learning and choosing God’s way to walk in your God-given destiny and make a difference.
  • Read Psalms. One look into the book of Psalms and we see how David was not afraid to pour out his emotions. He got angry, depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated; all of that and more. The book of Psalms reminds me that God can handle my emotions. He can help me sort through that strong force and get God’s perspective. I am not alone when that storm hits my soul. The Psalms also remind me that God does not condemn me when I have negative emotions or desires. He wants me to bring them to him so I can get his help instead of hiding them or trying to handle them on my own.

Treasured one, don’t let the enemy steal one bit of that godly girl power. When a strong current of emotions hits your heart, reach out to Jesus for clear direction to stay steady on the path of your purpose. ONWARD!

Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

How to Plug into God’s Power

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Are you frustrated with a sin habit you feel powerless over? It’s not your lack of effort, Treasured One, you must first shift your effort in a new direction. 

Paul began his letter to the Ephesians by reminding those believers of key beliefs about God and their inheritance in Christ Ten years prior to this letter when Paul had founded the church at Ephesus and discipled this church, I am certain he taught these same fundamental truths. I believe Paul knew this truth: renewing our minds is never a one and done deal, and so he went back to those core beliefs. Another beautiful insight is this: Paul addressed belief first, not behavior. This is where we must begin our efforts, Paul started with belief…What do you start with, Treasured One?

Power always comes from a source. Godly girl power comes only from God himself. To plug into God’s power, we must pause and pull into his presence daily to renew our minds.

Having access to God’s power and using this all-surpassing power are two different issues altogether. Our journey to change our source of power, begins with our mind.  While we have godly girl power within us through the Holy Spirit, the old ways we used to find strength when we were far away from God are familiar ruts in our thinking. 

To live differently, place your efforts first in renewing your mind. Renewing our minds is a lifetime process that brings transformation because our faith and action always walk hand in hand. 

Retreat daily to renew your mind through the Word and find the power you need to walk out your purpose.

An expert archer keeps his arrows in his quiver, close to him, so he can sharpen and polish them, releasing them again and again with power, purpose, and precision. Like the expert archer, God is calling his daughters to retreat into his presence to prepare and position their heart to be released for his glory.  

Wherever you are in your walk with God, you are never too far along to retreat inside God’s quiver and share sacred times close to him. It is in his quiver, concealed and sharpened, that we plug into godly girl power and our hearts are released to live for his glory.

Come away in his quiver, brave heart. Live on purpose by pausing from life’s pressures to plug into the limitless power that flows from the presence of Jesus.

Weekly Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23

Renew Your Mind. Change Your Life.

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This past summer our family went out to dinner at City Kitchen in Beaufort, North Carolina, to celebrate a special occasion.

Oh my, do I love that place!

We sat outside on a wrap-around porch with creaky, uneven floors on the second story of the home like a marina. Surrounded by water that held fishing boats and a sky emblazoned with a golden sunset, the amazing ambiance played heavy competition with our delicious dinner. Items gracing our plates included barbecued sweet potatoes, shrimp and grits, braised collards, and seared tuna straight from the waters of the Crystal Coast—one of my favorite places on earth.

Memories made around a restaurant table are just as special as those captured at home.

On the way home, my husband asked us to share what stood out to us the most from our experience at dinner. Each of us shared something different. As we paused to identify the special things at the heart of the evening and share our memories with one another, we relived our time together at City Kitchen.

Reflect, Remember, and Renew Your Mind

The Lord who created us tells us over and over again in his Word to reflect, remember and renew our minds to his Word. As he nourishes our heart with truth – our spiritual food, he encourages us to return to that truth over and over again.

Like a canvas covered with brushstrokes of various colors and shapes, our minds are filled with the fears, heartaches, joys, and victories of our life experiences. Each experience adds a new brushstroke, and over time these brushstrokes begin to form a landscape. Our landscape shapes the way we think and then determines how we act.

While some of our brushstrokes are beautiful, others swirl together to build confusion and deception in our minds.

Allow the Word to Transform Your Mind

God’s kingdom operates differently from this world. Rather than being molded by the world, we need to allow the Word to transform our minds.

Jesus knew we would face battles. He taught the truths and kingdom principles that would equip us to navigate through this world. And he commands us to renew and remember because in our daily lives, we are prone to forget and drift from truth.

Past events often shape our thought life—those things we see, hear, and experience in our everyday life.

While those are actual experiences, they may not line up with God’s truth. 

He wants us to live Kingdom minded with his perspective, with our mind set and controlled by His Spirit to experience life and peace (Romans 8:5–8).

Remain Steady on His Truths

Think of renewing your mind this way: every new truth is like a new brushstroke to capture the landscape of his kingdom. By increasing the capacity of our landscape, we live in greater measure in accordance to the truths in his Word.

Just like a boat tied to its anchor, God wants our thoughts to remain steady on His truths for our lives.

God alone is our Anchor of Truth. As an anchor exists to secure a vessel so it ceases to wander, God’s Word secures our minds and hearts to Him no matter what currents or waves we may face during the day.

This is why the third step in the Nourish Bible Study Method called Renew is completely devoted to this discipline.

Want to find your purpose?  Renew your mind.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. -Romans 12:2

Nourish Scripture: Luke 8:1-15 

Take the next step by downloading Nourishing Your Heart to discover the key to connecting with God’s Word in a way that transforms your life!

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.