Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Understanding God's Love

She Lives in Freedom

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Lord, when the enemy of my soul causes me to fall back into legalism, which can only complicate my faith, let me breathe the beautiful simplicity of the new commandment: love.

May I remember that I must first receive your love for myself by seeing myself the way you see me.

The self-deprecating thoughts must end. Harsh judgments I throw over myself must hush!

Your love is great, and only when I receive your love for myself can I bring it to others.

Let me look at my life through the lens of the gospel to see myself and others differently. May I deliberately breathe in grace for myself and exhale your grace and love to others. Your love is life-giving, filling my cup to overflowing with joy beyond expression. 

(Pray God’s Word: John 15: 9–11)

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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. © Copyright Treasured Ministries 2019

She Is Grafted into God’s Great Promises by Faith

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Great and gracious Father, my breath is taken away at your generosity in my life.  

You ask for my faith in Christ and trust in you, and in exchange, you give me access to every promise given to Abraham. By faith, I share in the rich nourishment that flows from the abundant inheritance of God’s family.  

I renounce every lie from the enemy that I have received that produces a scarcity mentality. I instead choose to believe this truth: I have been entrusted with abundance beyond what this world can give me.  

To activate that abundance, I must act because faith and actions always walk hand and hand.  

Today I receive your abundance so that tomorrow I will have the capacity to give to others with the same abundance you have given me.

Yes! You are a good, good Father!   

(Pray God’s Word: Romans 11:17; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 3:6; James 2:20; Genesis 12:1–3) 

Want more? Click here to read the scriptures.  

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

She Loves Because He Loved Her First

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Dear Father, when the enemy of my soul causes me to pull back up the legalism, which can complicate my faith, let me breathe the beautiful simplicity of the new commandment you gave: love.  

May I remember that I must first receive this love for myself by seeing myself the way you see me.  

The self-deprecating thoughts must end.

Harsh judgements I throw over myself must hush!

Your love is greater than all that. And only when I receive this love for myself can I bring it to others.

Let me look at my life through the lens of the gospel to see myself and others through your eyes.  

May I deliberately breathe in your grace for myself and exhale your love and grace to others.  For your love is life-giving, filling my cup to overflow with joy beyond expression. 

(Pray God’s Word: John 15:9–11)

Want more? Click here to read the scriptures.  

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

Through His Word, She Finds Strength to Stand

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Merciful and mighty Father, speak to me this morning with words to strengthen my soul.  

I am weary from the battle that life has brought my way.

I feel heavy this morning.

I see my circumstances, and I don’t understand.  

But may I remember there is a battle far beyond what I can see, and you are fighting for me. This morning I lay down my weapons of warfare and pick up the armor of God.  

Yes, this war will be won on my knees in prayer!  

Speak to me this morning. Give me a word, a verse, a truth I can hold onto. Your words provide strength for my soul so I can stand strong in my faith with enduring persistent prayer and see your goodness prevail.  

(Pray God’s Word: Daniel 10:10–21; Ephesians 6:10–20)

Want more? Click here to read the scriptures.

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

She Finds Divine Success Through Love

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Father, when I feel inadequate with what I have achieved in life or what I have or what I know, may I remember what you consider success.

Let me relax under the blessing of what you deem is most important to give: love.  

Love is greater than Bible knowledge or having all the answers.

It is greater than my achievements, titles, or accolades.

It is grander than the size of my home.

It is more impressive than my life being all perfect and tidy.

Let me never forget that nothing is greater than love.  

Today may I be faithful to cultivate love with those you put in my path. May each person leave my presence feeling loved. 

May I remember to love others as you have loved me—and this includes not enabling abuse. 

I close this prayer today by speaking truth from your Word. May this truth settle in my soul—to love is to succeed!   

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. . . . Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

(Pray God’s Word: 1 Corinthians 13)

Want more? Click here to read the scripture.  

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

God’s Love Letter

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Before you were born . . . I loved you (Ephesians 1:4). Loving you brought me great joy (Ephesians 1:5). In fact, I loved you so much that I gave my son so you could be completely free to love me (Ephesians 1:6-8).

Sin cannot and will never separate us. Nothing you have done or will ever do could ever take away my love from you . . . and so you and I can have a relationship with no barriers (Ephesians 1:7; 3:12). No pretending.

You cannot lose me. Not even death can separate us (Ephesians 8:38).

I am a good Father—the perfect father (Ephesians 1:5 & 8). Do not look for an earthly father as an example of me—there is only one God. I am he (Isaiah 45:5).  You can trust my love for you because not only am I loving . . . I AM LOVE (1 John 4:16). Not just any love—but AGAPE love. Perfect (1 John 4:18). Unconditional.

You Are Part of a Family…

You belong (Ephesians 1:3). You are a part of a family (Ephesians 1:5). You are never alone (Hebrews 13:5). Not today. Not ever (Ephesians 1:14). You have complete security in me. I am always here if you need to talk to me. I hope you will get to know me better and understand more every day about the depths of my love for you (Ephesians 1:16-17).

 I am also the master planner (Isaiah 25:1; Ephesians 1:11). You don’t have to worry about your future. And sometimes I am a mysterious planner (Ephesians 1:9) My ways are so much higher than yours (Isaiah 55:8-9).  It is in the mystery of not knowing the full blueprint that you have to use your faith and continue seeking me—which is the best place for you to be (Ephesians 1:16).

 Just trust and follow me. I am full of wisdom (Ephesians 1:8). You can be completely confident in that still small voice that is leading you (1 Kings 19:11-13; John 10:4). Don’t worry about tomorrow I always work out everything according to my plan (Ephesians 1:11). And the plans I have for you are to prosper you and not to harm you.

They are to give you a hope for the future (Jeremiah 29:11).

When this broken world gets hard and bruises your soul, remember I have prepared a place for you in eternity–you have an inheritance beyond your comprehension (Ephesians 1:11). So when life gets hard—look up, find hope and live differently (Ephesians 1:18) 

The Holy Spirit Will Bring You Peace…

The peace the Holy Spirit will bring you amid any storm is like a holy thread connecting you to heaven (Ephesians 1:13).  Let it remind you that I am with you and will never leave you.

I am here as your Father to help you through whatever you face. In the midst of life’s pressures, pause and enjoy the presence of my Holy Spirit and taste of what is yet to come.

 Most of all, I want you to understand that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that caused the Red Sea to split, is the power that lives inside you (Ephesians 1:19). So plug into this power simply by pulling away from the chaos and into my presence.

You are my masterpiece and I have a good work I planned for you to do before you were born (Ephesians 2:10). Becoming the woman you were created to be is one of the greatest gifts you can give this world.

 Don’t use your faith just to survive. Use it to surrender and you will find my power is all you need.

 So remember the greatness that is within you.

You are loved and accepted.

You are part of a family. 

So stand tall and rise up. See your very weakness as a doorway to depending on me so you can do great things for my glory.

You are a treasure.

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.

Legacy

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Hey brave heart, leave blessings in your wake for future generations and make a difference. You can spend a lifetime replaying your past or trying to change your family members. You can play the blame game. I know this – I’ve been there. This doesn’t solve things, and it gives power to people who cannot God’s build the dream in your life.

OR Brave heart, you can trust God your Heavenly Father and move forward. I like that better – don’t you?

The Role Women Play in God’s Design for Families

Inside God’s design for family wives are to be loved as Christ loved the church. This love was sacrificial.

It was costly.

It brought beauty.

Daughters are to be valued and raised without anger through unconditional love. Wives are to respect and submit to their husbands. Indeed, inside God’s family framework we find a model of how God intends to relate to us.

The family should be a place of rest, solace, love – a place where we are free to make the mistakes necessary to uncover our true potential – a refuge from the storms of life.

Sadly, under the weight of a broken world, the reality of a perfect family is fractured. Every woman has imperfections in her family. While God’s framework for family is perfect …we are not. The perfect family does not exist because there are no perfect people. But sometimes those fractures are so great, that our hearts can carry deep wounds. I believe this grieves the heart of God.

Be wise brave heart. As much as there is a God that loves us and wants us to have his design for family, there is an enemy of our souls who would love to destroy family. Don’t believe his lies that God’s framework for family doesn’t work – it was fallen humanity that was not there to love you.

The Strength of Family

Never forget that following Paul’s description of God’s family framework in the book of Ephesians, he writes about our war with the enemy. This order in scripture is no accident. The enemy knows that there is strength in family and would love nothing more to destroy God’s design (Ephesians 5:21-6:20).

God in his great redemption has a plan for restoration for our hearts through Jesus. You have a heavenly Father that wants to nourish your heart with truth so you can live the life you were created and redeemed to live. As God’s adopted children through Christ, we can reach out to our true Father and hold on to him.

The key is to turn to God, live by the Spirit, and allow Jesus to have the greatest impact in your life. Researching and analyzing our family can help us understand why we are the way we are, but only the Holy Spirit can change us from the inside out.  This is godly girl power. ONWARD!

This is not easy. No one would question that our background shapes our character. The people in our lives influence the way we are.

All of us have those negative cycles that may feel like inescapable realities. But the reality is we can break the cycles by making new choices.

We can choose new life and new legacies for our children.

Leave a Legacy for Future Generations

God brings a solution that surpasses self-help, self-determination, self-effort: God’s solution is found in sonship. God not only adopts you but longs for you to live “led” as his daughter.

Through Christ, we are adopted into a new family and given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to walk in a new way of life. It’s not an instant change. If you want to live in the freedom of this new family, God will lead you on a slow and deep journey of beautiful internal transformation. This journey is called discipleship. It’s a lifetime process directed by the Holy Spirit. Listen, follow, and watch God unravel cycle after cycle as you surrender to him.

Cutting new paths is not easy and takes time. Cycles, even if they are destructive, feel comfortable, so moving beyond them is a process.

Leave blessings in your wake for future generations and see new legacies continue to emerge. Reestablish God’s framework in YOUR family and leave a legacy. (Be the first if you have to, brave heart. What an honor!)

Could there be any greater blessing in life than that?

While your family background may influence your character, it doesn’t define your God-given destiny. May the gospel of Christ, which brings you into God’s family give you hope to live beyond your broken family by living by the Spirit.

You are a treasure.

Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Want more? Download Nourishing Your Heart to learn how to connect 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.

Shine

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Once surrounded by the shadows of shame from her wounded heart, the dark cloud of depression settled above her and 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 in further darkness.

How the Light of Christ Pierces through 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 candle light 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 lead 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.

Allow the Light of Jesus to Shine in You

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

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.