Welcome back to the Womens Bible Cafe™ as we  discuss  Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. As we learned from Nancy in the introduction. “reading this book won’t make your problems go away, but will point you in the direction of the Someone who can help.” The entire focus of our study is to unveil the lies and replace them with Truth based on Scripture.

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We’ve been carrying the weight of past lies and hidden shame far too long…and its time for God’s children to reclaim their identity in Christ. Jesus says “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” John 10:10 NKJV.

So my question is…how many of us are living abundant and joy-filled lives? Is your life “abundant to the full, till it overflows” (John 10:10 AMP) or is there room to clean out the lies? Let’s get started with our discussion….your participation is essential to add value to our bible study.

Last week when we launched our bible study we asked you what lies you wanted to break free from. Here are the answers you shared with us:

What Lies Do You Want to Replace With Truth?
(How our Bible students answered this question)

• negative feelings that are not of the Lord
• “You Are Not Good Enough. I often feel that I am not good enough as a mother, as a wife, as a teacher, as a friend, as a daughter, as a sister, etc.  Fear of not measuring up, I have to be better than others in order to get recognition, needing approval from others
• worrying about my children
• that a woman must be conventionally pretty to be happy or successful and that, as a 56-year-old I can no longer influence my family or impact the kingdom; insignificance that i can’t be better than i am right now and i wont be a mother; the lie that I do not provide value in my job and that I must work 24/7 to get ahead in this world. I would like to break free from the idea that what I do for a living is no big deal. I did not graduate from college and it is a huge regret in my life. I don’t feel like I met my expectations. I am always wondering “what if.” I would like to break free from entertaining the lies that I’m not smart enough, I missed my calling,
• the lie that I have to hold on to anger or seek revenge when a friend has hurt me
• “the need to be perfect,” “the need to only trust myself, because you can’t trust anybody else,” “there is no one to talk to when you are down because you look like you have issues and no one wants to inherit your problems”
• the lie that I can not lose weight, the lie that I’m not pretty
• I am great at comparing myself with someone else, then I can’t measure up. I hang on to guilt. I am horrible at asking for help. I feel like I am bothering someone by asking for help. I would like to not believe that I have to feel guilty for everything I do.
• one lie that I want to leave behind is that I have to do everything on my own. feeling like I have to be a martyr and do it all by myself when it comes to kids, work, home, etc. I then feel guilty to ask for help when I need it. the lie that I need to be the perfect mother, wife, room mom, housekeeper, well… everything.
• an even bigger lie: the media is more trustworthy than God or your faith.
• I want to break free of the lie of worry. but probably most importantly lies that I have to have a perfect home (always OCD clean!); I have to be perfect in the eyes of others and that people won’t like and love me for who I truly am. I want to live a God given happy and free life without worry or the need to control everything.
• I want to break free from the lie of Satan that I am not good enough in my marriage… I feel that I need to be a better wife which leads me to compare myself to other women. Having fear that I will not be here long enough to see my children grow up. I’d like to break free from believing I have to be the perfect wife, mother, daughter, worker and stop being such a martyr all the time.
• I want to break free from the lie that being “religious” is enough.
• I would like to fully accept that my identify is not based on what others think/say but on Christ and Christ alone
• I want to break free from the lie that it’s never going to get any better and that I am not going to get anything back from the “sacrifices” I’ve been making. Sick of listening to the doubt! Feelings that the Lord is disappointed in me when I don’t live up to what “I” feel that I should be. Or what I’m not.

Nancy says there’s a common thread in the lies we desire to be set free from…“the best lies look like the Truth.” In the weeks ahead, we’ll open our eyes to deception and learn to recognize Truth. We’re on a journey to be set free.

Assignment For the Next Week

• Pray for the women who are doing this study with you.
• Read Chapter Two in your book and companion guide.
• Look at the list of Key Resources on page 269 for topics addressed in this book
• Check in with your Small Group Leader