Young Women of Faith Bible-NIV (Hardback)

Chapter One

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.

6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."

7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.

8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.

9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day.

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,

15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.

Week 1

I'm Becoming a Woman of Faith

God's Pursuit of You

Each day in the Garden of Eden was perfect. The soft ground was like a pillow under Adam and Eve's bare feet. The dew watered all the plants and trees, and they were perfectly lush and green. Evenings in the Garden were even better. That's when Adam and Eve walked with God. His presence brought them joy and peace.

But one day was different. They heard "the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). Adam and Eve did not rush to meet him. Instead, they hid because they were filled with shame, a new emotion for them.

God is calling you, too. Are you hiding from him or running to meet him? Shame can get in the way of your relationship with God. But it is important to know the difference between true shame and false shame. True shame is caused by feeling guilty about your own sin. For example, if you lie to a friend, you will feel guilty and shameful about it. This is true shame. False shame is a feeling of dirtiness caused by another person's sin against you.

* Adam and Eve felt shame. Why? What caused their shame and guilt (Genesis 3:11; Romans 5:12-14)?

* What have you done that you feel shameful about? What caused your shame (Romans 3:10-12)?

* What did Jesus do to remove your shame (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 6:22-23)?

* Where do you stand with God now (Ephesians 2:4-7; Hebrews 4:14-16)?

Read About It

No matter what bad things you have done, God loves you and has great plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11-14, page 700). You can believe him when he says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).

Experience It

On a piece of paper, write the name of a sin that brings you shame. Maybe it's lying or cheating. Then in pencil write the word "SHAME" in large letters across the paper. Jesus knows what has happened, and he loves you anyway. Take some time to pray and confess your sin and your need for Jesus. In faith, erase the word "SHAME." Now, with a marker or gel pen of your favorite color, write the word "FORGIVEN" across your paper. Remember: "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame" (Psalm 34:5).

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

4 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man."

2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.

4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.

16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.

17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.

18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.

19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

7 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,

3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.

7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,

9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month - on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.

The Beginning

God must have had fun when he created the earth and everything in it. Just imagine making a giraffe with its long, long neck or a sunflower with its bright yellow petals. With his creativity flowing, God made everything just as he wanted it.

The design God had in mind for humans was a very special one. He used himself as a model. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." What a great thing! People are different from everything else God made because we are made in God's image. The next time you look in the mirror, remember what a special creation you are: a young woman made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27

"If I Were There ..."

Wow! Noah and his whole family and every bird and animal all crammed together on the ark! Hmm. If I were there, I think I'd try to get out of clean-up duty! I'd organize races for the tigers and hopping contests for the kangaroos. And I'd make up jokes to keep the hyenas laughing and I'd slide down the neck of the giraffe onto a hippopotamus.

If I were there, I'd get awfully tired not seeing the sky or feeling the grass beneath my feet. I'd miss the sunshine and talking with my friends, and I would probably even get a little seasick.

If I were there, I'd also feel very lucky to be loved by God so much and to know that he had taken such great care to save my life. Genesis 7:6-12

Genesis 4:1

Journal

Dear Journal:

It is so hard having an older sister who does everything right! Jessica can sing and act and has lots of friends. And it feels like I'm always messing up, and it is hard for me to memorize stuff, and I'm really shy.

Sometimes I wonder if Mom and Dad love her more. After all, she is really pretty, and she always makes good grades. I've got to admit, sometimes I'm jealous. But I don't want to feel this way. Jesus, help me to love my sister. Help us to be friends.

Got to go practice the piano. I will write more later!

(Continues...)