Nuggets of Truth: Volume 1

By Ashley Campbell

WHAT ARE YOU GETTING YOURSELF INTO? WHY THIS BOOK?

God has a plan for you. He wants to fully unleash His power and grace through your life. He wants you to come into contact with the desires, skills, talents, dreams, and visions that are buried in the soil of your life. And it's a daily process.

Are you living that life n

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jan 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685568443

Ashley Campbell

Ashley Campbell has been with her husband since she was fifteen years old. They have seven children together. She is currently homeschooling six of them with sixteen years to go! She enjoys reading books, drinking coffee, BBQing, sitting out in the sun when the weather is nice, and listening to music, as well as a good conversation with a good friend.

Book preview

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Nuggets of Truth

Volume 1

Ashley Campbell

Trilogy Christian Publishers

Tustin, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Nuggets of Truth

Copyright © 2022 by Ashley Campbell

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-843-6

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-844-3 (ebook)

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the church, the people who have God’s spirit living inside of them. I hope and pray that you will uncover your biggest burdens, find the qualities, values, skills, and talents God hid in your heart, and walk in the authority God has for you through Jesus Christ.

This book is dedicated to all believers who have been trying to uncover who they are.

I hope this book helps you, while you are in the process, uncover the love, mercy, and grace God has for you.

Let all you do be done in all the good God has for you.

One more thing: don’t be ashamed to be and share all God has put inside you. He shed His blood for you to do that.

Let’s live lives that reflect the value of the sacrifice He made.

It’s all hidden in your heart. Let’s dig it up.

Acknowledgements

I had no idea I wanted to actually make this page till I read another book while doing the finishing touches on the one you are holding in your hand.

It looked so simple and important. So, here it goes.

First off, I want to acknowledge my husband.

My husband has been the sounding board for all you are about to endeavor on. He has been listening to me talk about all this for the last seven years and has been listening to me talk for twenty-one years (as of 2022, when this was published).

My life would not be what it is today without his support as well as the time he works outside the home to care for our seven children and me. I have never had to worry about making money while staying home with our seven children. The opportunity not to worry about that has allowed my creativity to flow.

Thank you, Scott Campbell. My life will never be the same because you are in it with me. The conversations I have with you every morning have changed my life, and I look forward to many more.

To my children:

You have been a huge encouragement and support on the many days I wanted to quit and throw Daily Encouragement (my brand) and my podcast, Daily Encouragement with Ashley Campbell, in the trash. I have been discouraged many times while on this journey. You have always been there to encourage me and remind me of the things I am building into my family: vision and perseverance. I can still hear my son, Scotty, tell me, Aim for the moon, land on a star.

Your prayers have been a huge catalyst to this devotional being published.

To my friends:

Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten the contract for this book and you wouldn’t be reading it. That money made this possible and opened opportunities that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I really love you, guys, and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your generosity changed my life, and I hope your reading this will repay you in some way. God bless you all! I pray that you prosper in all you put your hands to.

To my followers:

Thank you, guys, for your support. Thank you for listening to the podcast and watching my videos. You add value to what I am doing. I hope this gives you what you need to walk in all God has for you. Please let me know how this book impacted your life. I love you, guys!

Contents

Letter to You xiii

Day 1. Outside Inside Living 1

Day 2. Where This Authority Problem All Began 4

Day 3. Are You Stuck in Isolation Mode? 8

Day 4. Practical Needs for Spiritual Motivation 10

Day 5. Relationships 13

Day 6. We Are God’s Grace in Its Various Forms 16

Day 7. Parallels, Physical and Spiritual 18

Day 8. What Is the Function of Attachment? 20

Day 9. Grief and Belief: the Formula for Faith 22

Day 10. What’s Our Function? 25

Day 11. Security, Freedom, and Anxiety 27

Day 12. To Accept or Not to Accept Depends on Who It’s

From 29

Day 13. Perfection 31

Day 14. God’s Commands Are Boundless 33

Day 15. A Bruised Reed and a Smoldering Wick 36

Day 16. Don’t Be Afraid of the God Who Created You 39

Day 17. Be Thankful 43

Day 18. Relationships Are Hard 46

Day 19. Conflict in Relationships 48

Day 20. Silent Killers 51

Day 21. The Truth of Ourselves and God 55

Day 22. Embrace Who You Are 57

Day 23. The Struggle Is Real 60

Day 24. The Truth: You Are Already Made in His Image 63

Day 24a. Made in His Image and Likeness 66

Day 24b. A Lack of Understanding: Born Infants with Adults’

Parts 69

Day 24c. Positive Intentions 72

Day 25. Present Patterns of Relating 75

Day 26. The Truth Is in You 77

Day 27. Nothing New Under the Sun 80

Day 28. Manipulated by What You Don’t Know 83

Day 29. You Have a Choice. Are You Taking Full Responsibility

for Your Life? 85

Day 30. Are You Listening? 88

Day 31. Are You Wholehearted? 91

Day 32. Is God Holding Out? 93

Day 33. What Is the Goal in Life? 95

Day 34. How Much Silence Do I Give to Other People? 98

Day 35. Where Are You Looking for God? 100

Day 36. What Are You Experiencing Inside? 102

Day 37. Guarding Yourself Against Evil 104

Day 38. Faith and Belief Go Hand in Hand 107

Day 39. Do You Believe God Wants Good for You? 109

Day 40. What We See Has Always Been: Physical and Spiritual

Parallels 112

Day 41. A Solution to Every Problem 117

Day 42. Confidence in You 120

Day 43. Relational Ingredients: What Kills and What Is

Needed 124

Day 44. Internalizing God’s Grace Using the Relationships in

the Context of Our Daily Lives 128

Day 45. Loving Your Enemies Doesn’t Equal Relationship 131

Day 46. Are You Learning to Rely on the Love That God Has

for You? 134

Day 47. Fear and Light 137

Day 48. Grace for the Darkness 140

Day 49. Are You Thirsty? 142

Day 50. Ingredients for Setting Boundaries 146

Day 51. Beliefs of My Bondage: Part 1 150

Day 52. Beliefs of My Bondage: Part 2 155

Day 53. Real and Ideal 158

Day 54. You Are Not Defined by Your Family History 160

Day 55. You Can Do Nothing 163

Day 56. A Prayer for the Pruning Process 167

Day 57. Fear of the Lord 169

Day 58. Jesus Is the Vine 172

Day 59. God’s Grace Is Enough 175

Day 60. Maturity 178

Day 61. In the Morning 181

Day 62. Come Out 184

Day 63. What Are You Building Your Life On? 187

Day 64. Grace Is Enough 191

Day 65. Are You Internalizing Your Own Standards? 194

Day 66. God Gives Desires 197

Day 67. Whose Knowledge Are You Living By? 200

Day 68. Who Is Validating You? 202

Day 69. Which Tree Are You Eating From? 205

Day 70. Do You Care Too Much? 208

Day 71. Are You Under the Love That Surpasses

Knowledge? 211

Day 72. Faith Is an Expression 216

Day 73. Others Know What You Don’t 219

Day 74. What Is Conviction? 222

Day 75. The Process of Being an Adult in Christ 225

Day 76. Is Your Identity Tied to a Role? 230

Day 77. God Is Your Guardian 233

Day 78. Who Are You? 236

Day 79. A New Consciousness, a New Set of Rules 239

Day 80. A New Experience 242

Day 81. Who Are You Answering To? 245

Day 82. Who You Answer to Determines How You Feel and

the Choice You Make 249

Day 83. Ingredients for Learning to Rule 254

Day 84. What Does It Look Like to Rule? 259

Day 85. What Does It Look Like to Subdue? 263

Day 86. Flip Your Perspective 266

Day 87. Do You Want to See His Hands or Only Have What

He Offers? 269

Day 88. Is What You Believe Keeping You from Seeing Who

Jesus Is? 272

Day 89. The Yeast of Bread and the Yeast of the Pharisees 274

Day 90. God in Our Midst 278

Day 91. God is Not a Liar. Why Don’t I Believe It? 281

Day 92. Emotions Have a Function 284

Day 93. Confronting Yourself without Judgment 288

Afterword 291

Appendix A: Establish Your Personal Values 293

Appendix B: Character Traits. The Qualities of You 301

Appendix C: Bonus Journal Questions 308

Appendix D: Identify Your Emotions 332

Appendix E: Beliefs to Believe 338

Appendix F: Dig Up Your Purpose 339

Appendix G: What the Heck Is Wisdom? 343

Bibliography 345

Letter to You

This devotional is based on my daily journals. I get up in the morning, get coffee, grab my Bible, a book, a journal, and start talking to God. I always say and write out what is on my heart for the day: joys and sorrows, questions and answers, dreams and visions, hopes, cares, anxiety, stresses—you name it. Whatever is there goes before the throne.

That alone has been the foundation for the insights I share with you. I am sharing with you revelations from my daily life that have changed it one day at a time. I am a firm believer in what Jesus said about man: that we cannot live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). I don’t believe He was talking just about the Bible. I believe He was talking about God speaking directly to you in the context of your life. My hope is to inspire you to hear this word and live it daily throughout your life.

Don’t you want to see God work in your life every day? Don’t you want to wake up with Him on your mind and build an intimate relationship that will change the world in you and the world around you? I most certainly do, and I hope that your reading this will help you do just that.

In this devotional, I share the personal struggles I had in my life, my relationship with God, and my relationships with other people. Everything is connected together, and I believe when we begin to see how integrated our life really is, it will give us greater insight into our current struggles and the understanding to move into peace and freedom.

There are reflection questions at the end of every day section, which you must take time to answer. This will give you an understanding of yourself and highlight specific issues that the Lord wants to heal in your life. Make sure you get a notebook and a pen so you can reflect and write down whatever comes to your mind while you are reading this.

I hope and pray this devotional blesses you. I hope you get the insight you have been looking for. I hope burdens are lifted and waves of understanding come like a flood, leading you into greater peace and freedom that you may have never known.

This isn’t far off. It’s in the soil of your own life. It’s now the time to break up the unplowed ground and seek the Lord. It’s time to find the nuggets of truth and live in the freedom that Jesus promised. Your life is waiting.

Be blessed, brothers and sisters in the Lord.

—Ashley Campbell

• Day 1 •

Outside Inside Living

What has kept you from being honest with God? Yourself? Others? People who have positions of authority? Have you ever known something only to allow someone outside of you to question the truth you knew? I can relate, as well as someone else we read about in the Bible.

Allow me to give you an example from the life of Peter.

Let’s look at Peter and how he was impacted by others. When Jesus was led off, Peter and another disciple followed behind. The disciple with Peter, who was known by the high priest, went into the courtyard with Jesus. Peter was finally brought in by the girl who kept the door.

As he was warming himself by the fire with the servants and officers, the servant who let him in began to question him with, You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you? (John 18:17).

I am not was Peter’s response.

What just happened here?

John 18:4–5 talks about Jesus being arrested. The authorities came and questioned Him, and He said to them, Who is it you want? They replied, Jesus of Nazareth. He didn’t run. He didn’t deny who He was and the truth that was in Him. He didn’t see authority as a threat to who He was and what He knew was true.

How do you feel when someone who has some weight or authority in your life questions you and what you believe? How do you respond under that pressure?

Me? I used to be a people pleaser. Butt kisser—you name it.

If I respected you and thought you had some wisdom that I didn’t possess when I made an initial decision and if you were questioning what I was doing, I would question myself too and go into a state of confusion about what I initially decided to do. I had no confidence.

My confidence came from the outside in. If you appeared to have authority and your tone of voice was demanding, I would lose my confidence even when I already knew the truth of my situation.

Peter knew the truth too. He was hanging with the ultimate truth, and the ultimate truth told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster would crow. What happened? The rooster crowed after Peter denied being Jesus’s disciple.

Peter was a disciple and knew that, but he denied his own truth because of the authority figures around him. If the people who had authority questioned Peter’s decision, Peter questioned his truth—sounds like the garden all over again.

But that in itself is a whole other chapter.

Questions for Reflection

Have you ever known the truth of a situation and had someone outside of you invalidate you?

How do you make decisions?

How do you feel when your initial response to a given circumstance is questioned by people outside of you?

If you are struggling in this area, ask God to help you uncover the reasons your security is outside of you instead of inside your heart, where He lives with His love and grace.

Ask God to make you more firm, secure, and steadfast within yourself when you make decisions for your life.

• Day 2 •

Where This Authority Problem All Began

Back to the garden…

When God created mankind, He made them in His image: Male and female he created them (Genesis 5:2, ESV). Then they had some instructions: Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Genesis 1:28).

They were in charge.

God spoke directly to Adam about His work. Eve had not been created yet. God told Adam, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die (Genesis 2:16–17).

After Eve was created, God brought her to Adam, and they were […] both naked and they felt no shame (Genesis 2:25).

Now we get to the fall. There was a serpent that I have heard is pretty crafty. The first thing he does is go to Eve with a question. He wants to know what she knows. The serpent already has something in mind but needs to know what Eve knows before he offers her a flat-out lie. For you to ingest a lie, it needs to somewhat line up with what you already know to be true. It has to attach itself to your understanding in some way. The serpent needs to know what Eve understands about God’s instruction before making his bold statement.

He comes to her with a question to get this information, Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? (Genesis 3:1).

Here is Eve’s response: We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die’ (Genesis 3:2–3).

Here comes the half-truth: ‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil’ (Genesis 3:4–5).

Now, let’s park here for just a moment. How do you feel when you know the truth about something and someone comes to you with statements like that? For me, it can be intimidating. I think, They must know something I don’t. I must be wrong.

I wonder if Eve felt that way at that moment.

I think it’s an experience all of us humans possess, and there has to be a way to explain why people don’t stand up for themselves against stronger types of personalities. There is a reason why men and women let people outside themselves rule their lives when they know within themselves what they want to do, but the person speaking to them appears to have more authority on the subject than they do, so they doubt what they know and the God-given duty that was transferred to them since the creation of the world: to rule and subdue the earth.

I’m wondering: What was Eve thinking at that moment? The truth she knew, which had been given to her either by God Himself or her husband, had been spoken of as a lie as if neither her husband nor God could be trusted. Where else did she get this information, and now there is another creature telling her that she and Adam wouldn’t die—how confusing.

She began to doubt the truth she already possessed inside her and lean on her own understanding. She couldn’t trust the authority around her, the person who had given her the instruction, so who could she trust?

Herself.

Eve went against the truth she knew she had. The source she had gotten it from had been questioned and then declared a lie. Adam was right there and didn’t say anything! His silence might have confirmed that he was okay with it because instead of denying the fruit, he ate it with her. How confusing must that have been for Eve!

They realized now they were both naked and made coverings for themselves. When God was walking around in the cool of the day, He called to them, Where are you? Adam answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid (Genesis 3:9–10).

Sin had brought them into hiding. That’s what it does: it brings us into isolation.

Questions for Reflection

Can you relate to Eve at all?

Have you ever struggled to trust the words an authority gave you simply because they didn’t defend what they asserted?

Have you ever looked up to an authority before you made a decision just to see what they would do first?

• Day 3 •

Are You Stuck in Isolation Mode?

Isolation is deadening. Think of a plant that doesn’t have access to light, water, and soil: What happens to it? It eventually withers and dies. Same with our souls: we also need ingredients to grow. We need grace, truth, and time, as Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend teach in their book How People Grow.

Where do those elements come from?

Relationships.

Because of the sins committed by us or to us, we are not always aware of how this is happening. No one wakes up and says that they want to screw their life up and any relationship they come in contact with. No one intends that. It’s just a lack of awareness, which is usually a lack of information. You can only make the best decisions based on the information you have at the present time, so that’s all you can do. After that, you begin to make decisions and learn the fruit of those decisions. Sometimes the results are not what we intended. That doesn’t mean I intended to make a bad choice; it just means I had a lack of information. Sometimes when we have been hurt and want to protect ourselves, we let pride