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Lies Young Women Believe Companion Guide

And the Truth That Sets Them Free

Moody Publishers

Blazing Lies

Realize

Realize means "to make real or actual." That's what we want to do with this section of each day's study. We want to "make real or actual" the Truth that you've just read. This is where you'll roll up your sleeves and move from just being "introduced" to the Truth in the book to making it so real in your life that you "know" it.

1. Look up 2 Peter 2:19. Rewrite the verse in your own words in the space provided.

2. How would you answer the questions posed on page 13 of LYWB? It reads, "Do you feel as if your life is being controlled by powerful emotions—like fear, depression, anger, loneliness, jealousy, or self-pity? Are there harmful habits or destructive patterns you can identify in your life—things like cutting yourself, drinking, using drugs, or sexual activity—that you just can't seem to change or let go of?" Write your thoughts here.

3. Did you take the "what's-the-status-of-your-lying-embers?" quiz? In case you haven't, we've included it here for you to give it a try. Why not take it now.

Selecting one per pair, (circle) the word or set of words that reflect how you feel or respond most of the time.

(1) Relaxed or >>> Totally stressed-out

(2) Happy-to-be-single or Gotta-have-a-guy

(3) Good-with-what-ya-got or Ugly

(4) FORGIVEN OR GUILTY

(5) Defnitely-taking-my-problems-to-God-frst or Gotta-ask-my-friends-for-advice

(6) Got-just-enough-friends or > Lonely

(7) Friendly or > Totally PMS-ing

(8) AUTHENTIC OR HYPOCRITICAL

(9) In-control-of-my-tech-world or would-die-without-text-messaging, Facebook, and more

(10) Confident-in-my-stand-to-be-pure or Ashamed-to-stand-alone

(11) Content-with-what-ya-got or MUST-shop-now

(12) The-real-deal or Different-depending-on-who-I'm-with

(13) Walking-in-victory or unable-to-overcome-certain-sins

(14) Content-to-submit or Angry-at-my-parents

(15) Confident-of-God's-protection or Afraid-of-Satan

* * *

Look at the words you circled. What might these words reveal about the status of your emotions and relationships?

4. Remember erin's story in the introduction of LYWB? She was controlled by fear and experienced panic attacks nearly every night of her life. her fear was the result of believing lies, but it took her a long time to see that. The biggest lie she believed was "everyone leaves." What Scripture verse would you use to counteract that lie with Truth?

Respond

Respond means to "answer" or to "take action." We want you to do more than just realize the Truth. We want you to act on it! each day we will guide you through a series of questions or activities designed to help you respond to the Truth you've encountered. This is where it gets personal as you apply Truth directly to your life. If you do this study as part of a group, we'll guide you back to discuss some of these questions with your group each week.

1. Often, it is easier to see the lies that others believe, than it is to see how you've been deceived. What are some lies you see the young women around you, especially your friends, believing?

2. How would you like your life to change as a result of this study?

Write It Out

If you are going to dig deep, you will need to spend time praying about what you're learning in the Word during the course of this study. We've included space at the end of each day for you to journal. you can pray out loud, but we'd like to challenge you to record your prayers right here in this book. As you look back, you will be amazed at how God has faithfully responded to you. We'll get you started at the end of each day of study.

Jesus, I want to grow emotionally, spiritually, and relationally as a result of this study. I pray that You will reveal areas of bondage in my life and any lies I've believed that are keeping me enslaved. Show me the Truth I need to know to experience freedom, especially in the areas of ...

The Origin of Lies

Read chapter one: The Deceiver in LYWB.

Realize

1. Consider today quiz time! Take a stab at the following questions about Satan, and then check your answers by taking a deeper look at a few Scripture passages that tell us about God's arch-enemy.

A. If you could describe Satan's physical appearance, based on Scripture, what words would you use?

.... big and hairy

.... bright and beautiful

.... black and scaly

.... short and slimy

It might be surprising to realize that Satan would best be described by the words bright and beautiful! Read 2 Corinthians 11:14 and ezekiel 28:12.

How can the reality of Satan's appearance affect our tendency to believe his lies?

B. According to Scripture, what is Satan's native language?

.... Latin

.... Pig Latin

.... Lying

.... Jive

Look up John 8:44 to be sure your answer is correct. (Though you probably don't need any help!) What does the writer mean when he writes that lying is Satan's native tongue?

C. Why was Satan cast out of heaven?

.... pride

.... failure to clean his room

.... bad breath

.... shining his wings

Of course, Satan wasn't kicked out of heaven for not cleaning his room! ezekiel 28:12–19 describes Satan's fall. Look it up. What specific character traits led to his downfall?

2. Look up Genesis 2:15–3:10 in your Bible. We want you to thoroughly digest this story. (So much of this book hinges on your understanding of eve's fall.) As you read the passage, fill in the blanks to review key thoughts.

* "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, '____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ... '" (2:15–17 NIV)

"The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Now the serpent was more _________________________ than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the ____________________________________ woman, 'Did God really say, ____________________________________ ?' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, '________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ .' '____________________________________,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, ________________________________________________________________________. ' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, ____________________________________. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized __________________________; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was _____________ because I was __________________; so I ___________. '" (2:25–3:10 NIV)

3. The story of Adam and eve in the Garden of eden is likely a familiar one. Let's look at it closely.

A. Who is the deceiver in these passages? _________________

B. What specific lies does he tell to Eve? _________________

C. What are the consequences? _________________

4. In chapter one, we shared Tracey's story. She was deceived into believing that it was OK to take crystal meth from her dad. What parallels do you see between the consequences that Tracey experienced and those that eve experienced? Write three.

5. OK, let's take a closer look at how eve's deception began. Look up Genesis 2:16–17. Fill in the blanks of God's actual command to Adam:

* "You are ________ to eat from ________ tree in the garden; but you must not eat ____ ______ ________ ______ ______ ________ _____ ________ ________ _________ , for when you eat of it you ____________ surely."

Now look up Genesis 3:1. Fill in the blanks of what Satan said to Eve:

* "Did ________ really say 'You ________ eat from ________ tree in the garden?"'

Satan began his deception by planting doubts in eve's mind about what God had actually said. God was clear. Adam and eve had freedom to eat from any tree except one. Satan questioned that freedom by subtly modifying what God had said. The result was eve and then Adam doing something God had warned would have negative consequences.

We often doubt that a relationship, emotion, or activity is truly harmful even when God's Word specifically warns against it.

6. Look up Jeremiah 29:11. How does Satan's desire for our destruction differ from God's desire for our lives?

God desires for us to live abundant lives. he wants you to experience true freedom, joy, peace, and contentment. Our goal in this study is to move you toward his desire for you.

Respond

1. If you look closely there is probably an area of your life where God's Word warns that an activity will cause you harm, but you have chosen to participate anyway. For example, maybe you expose yourself to "just one" sexual scene in movies here and there (ephesians 5:3) or you are using language that "everyone else is using" but that's negative, unkind, or filthy (Philippians 4:8). What is one area where you are not heeding God's commandments and may be headed toward consequences?

2. Sin always has consequences, even though we may not experience them right away. What are some consequences Christians may face when they sin, especially as it relates to the sin you wrote about above?

3. In what area of your life do you think you may be experiencing consequences for disobeying God?

4. If you haven't already done so, find a friend (or a few friends!) who would like to do this study with you. Then, ask someone to pray for you in the area you wrote about above.

Write It Out

Jesus, give me the discernment to recognize the tactics of the Enemy. I am experiencing the consequences of lies I've believed in the area of ...

The Power of Lies

1. Look up Psalm 119:11 and write it in your own words here.

If we dwell on God's Word, it seems we get a super-ability to overcome sin and walk in Truth. This lets us enjoy the abundant life God desires for us.

2. Why is it so surprising, then, that the opposite can also be true? When we dwell on the world's messages and our own fleshly desires, we fall prey to Satan's plan for our destruction. Why do you think it's sometimes hard for us to live as if we really believe this simple Truth?

3. eve dwelled on the world's messages and her own desires instead of God's words. The progression looked like this >>

It's obvious that she began to listen when she heard the serpent's voice. Read Genesis 3:6 (NIV) below and circle what she began to dwell on concerning the tree.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."

After she dwelled on the lie, she started to believe what Satan had told her. Now, underline how she acted on her desires.

Eve cooperated with Satan by dwelling on lies rather than the Truth of God's Word.

Respond

1. In chapter two, we introduced you to a girl we called Caitlyn. She moved quite quickly from being a wide-eyed, happy twelve-year-old to a bulimic who was fighting for her life. Lots of girls today focus on the world's messages about beauty and value. They often end up fighting battles similar to Caitlyn's. What are some means the world uses to make us believe that being underweight is healthy? Write them in the list below.

We first listen to messages that aren't true from these sources; if we dwell on those lies, we begin to believe them. Go to the graphic of the ear and write some examples of lies we begin to believe about ourselves in the area of beauty and value if we dwell on the world's messages.

2. Eve cooperated by dwelling on lies rather than the Truth of God's Word. We do the same thing. Instead of spending time in God's Word cultivating inner beauty, we spend hours in front of the mirror or at the gym, focused on our physical appearance. Figure out the amount of time you spent last week reading your Bible and praying versus looking in the mirror or working out. Write the number of minutes for each day of the week.

Is this an accurate reflection of how you typically spend your time in this area of your life?

3. We'd like you to set one reasonable goal in this area—to help you increase the time you spend reading the Word (and to keep you away from what keeps you away from it!). here are some ideas to get you started.

* Commit to spend 15 minutes reading your Bible each day when you get home from school.

* read a proverb each day for the next month.

* Place your Bible on top of the remote control. Don't turn on the Tv until after you've spent some time reading the Bible.

Those are some ideas we thought of, but you know what motivates you better than we do! Spend a few minutes thinking about how you could encourage and motivate yourself to spend more time dwelling on the Truth. Then, complete this sentence with the commitment you are making:

I commit to spend more time dwelling on the Truth by ...

Write It Out

Jesus, help me to uncover lies in my life. Expose me to Your powerful Truth. Especially in the area of ...

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Excerpted from Lies Young Women Believe Companion Guide by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Dannah Gresh. Copyright © 2009 Nancy Leigh DeMoss Dannah Gresh. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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