Chapter One
Genesis 11 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.
