Hello, lovelies!
What a great time we had last night! I so enjoyed seeing your pretty faces and hearing what the Lord laid on your heart. We had some deep and productive discussion; I was so blessed by your honesty and humbleness. In case you didn't get to join us, here's a recap of what we discussed. Please ask questions, post your thoughts, share your heart as you read!
This summer, we're discussing the book "Lies Young Women Believe" by Nancy DeMoss and Dannah Gresh.
· Where do lies come from? & Where do lies get their power?
· Lies are all around us, on a daily basis. Some of them are major, some of them are minor, but regardless, all lies we believe are significant. And each lie affects our hearts.
· What are some lies that you see others believing on a daily basis? What lies do you believe?
Lies can be so subtle that we don't even recognize them, yet, they're all around us. Take this video, for example:
· Think back to the lies you just thought of. Where do those lies come from? God’s desire isn’t for us to live in bondage to lies. He created us and died for us to live freely in relationship with Him. But believing lies costs us that freedom. In order for us to battle these lies and live freely, we’ve got to get to the source of the lies and choke it out.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Read Genesis 2:15-3:24.
· What is a lie?
An inaccurate or false statement with deliberate intent to deceive; an imposter. Lies aren’t unintentional or ignorant. They are deliberate. Lies are very good at camouflaging themselves well.
· Where do you see lies in this story of Adam & Eve?
Satan didn’t go 180 from what God said. He just twisted it enough to question God’s authority and character. Compare what Satan says to Eve to what God said originally. How is it different?
· Where do lies come from?
Read 2 Corinthians 11:14. Satan poses as an “angel of light.” He’s an imposter!
Read John 8:44. Satan is the father of lies.
For further study on the nature of Satan, read Ezekiel 28. Satan is the imposter. His motives are malicious. He wants nothing more than our destruction. So he cleverly and sneakily uses all kinds of different tools to speak lies into our lives.
· What mouthpieces do you see used to communicate lies?
False religions, movies, TV, popular songs, friends, evil rulers, magazine ads, store mannequins, window displays, etc.
· Why does Satan lie to us?
He wants our death and destruction. He knows what God said originally about the tree (if you eat of it you will surely die), and he tries to talk Eve into eating of the tree anyway, assuring her that she will not really die, even though he knows better!
· How do Satan’s lies affect me?
The consequences of Eve falling prey to Satan’s lies are clearly outlined in Genesis 3:16-24. What are the consequences? Separation from God, pain and toiling in this life, loss of innocence, spiritual death…what else?
· How do you feel lies affecting you? Self-esteem, insecurity, grumpy, angry, confused?
· Here’s the problem: Satan lies, but we believe him, thereby giving him and the lies power in our lives. How do we give them power? Let’s look at Eve again.
o Eve cooperated by listening to Satan’s lies. (She should’ve run!)
- She got close and entertained his suggestion.
o Eve cooperated by dwelling on lies.
-She conversed with him and considered what he said.
o Eve cooperated by believing lies rather than the truth of God’s Word.
- She believed the serpent’s promise was more trustworthy than what God had said.
o Eve cooperated by acting on Satan’s lies.
- She ate the fruit. She knew truth and chose to do otherwise.
· So how do we combat the lies? Well, we have to know our weapon.
Read Ephesians 6. We’ve got to be in the Word and KNOW God’s word.
We also need to know how Satan works and know his methods and targets. That’s what we plan to do throughout this study. We will look at specific lies and then the truths we need to combat them.
Activity: Create journals to write down any lies you find yourself believing.
That does it for your recap this week. Make plans now to attend next time on June 20th at my house from 6:30-8:30pm.
I'm praying for lies to be broken in your hearts and lives! I'd love to hear what God's doing in you so be bold and comment away! :)
Love you girls!
Jessie
