Lies Young Women Believe And The Truth That Sets Them Free- A Book Review

The Authors

Nancy DeMoss and Dannah Gresh are the authors of this book. 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss is the author of "Lies Women Believe.'' She is the host and teacher for "Revive Our Hearts" and "Seeking Him", two nationally syndicated radio program heard in the US each weekday. For more than 25 years, Nancy has communicated a burden for both personal and corporate revival in conferences and retreats.

Dannah Gresh is the best selling author of "And The Bride Wore White" and co-founder of "Pure freedom", a ministry equipping men and women of all ages to a vibrant life of purity. She is also the author of the "Secret Keeper " series and "Pursuing The Pearl." Dannah lives with her family in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Pages In This Book

What i like about this book  is, it's very scriptural.You could see the verses in every topic. I also loved the cool graphics and how they came up with the artistic idea on showing the definition of words. There is also a portion there called, "Dousing Lies With The Truth" which compares the lie with the truth of the Word of God. I also loved the portion "Making It Personal" where you could really think again after reading each chapter and be reminded of the things you've learned from it and how you could apply it in your personal life.

Why "Lies Young Women Believe"

As i began to read the book, I was wondering why this book was addressed to  young women and not to  young men, although men could also read it and it's also very applicable to them. I found the answer as i read through it. In Nancy's book "Lies Women Believe" (which is her other book) , it says there, " We are like Eve. We have all experienced defeats and failures, trouble and turmoil.  We have all experienced a selfish heart, a shrewed spirit , anger, envy and bitterness. And we ache to do things over, to have lives of harmony and peace." Nancy Leigh DeMoss exposes those areas of deception most commonly believe by Christian women.  While this book " Lies Young Women Believe" was written because the two authors have grown to love this generation of girls even more deeply. Focus group and conversations with girls led them up to write this book. They also became increasingly aware of the depth of the deception and darkness they face.

What Is In It For You

The book is divided into three parts. Part I talks about the "Landscape of Lies" which is divided into  three chapters. Chapter 1 talks about  "Where Do Lies Come From." Chapter 2 talks about  "Where Do  Lies Get  The Power To Destroy Our Lives". Chapter 3 talks about "The Truth ( How Can We Pursue Truth)." Part II tackles on "Lies Young Women Believe which are divided in nine chapters: "Lies About God" , "Lies About Satan", "Lies About Myself", "Lies About Guys", "Lies About Relationships", "Lies About My Faith", "Lies About Sin", "Lies About Media", "Lies About The Future". Part 3 on the other hand tackles on "Overcoming Lies."

I  wont review every chapter here but i just want to highlight some of the things i really liked.

In "Lies About God" chapter, what i really liked there most are these statements that  exposed the lie that "God is not enough". These were the statements that  i really liked to counteract on that lie ,  "There's nothing wrong with having friends, a 4.0 GPA (1.0 GPA in most universities in the Philippines), athletic ability, nice clothes, or a happy, healthy family-God may bless us with all those gifts and more. But none of those things can satisfy the deepest  longings of our hearts; and those gifts are really only meaningful when our relationship with Him is at the center of our lives." I agree to that.

Although i don't want topics about Satan, i want to share here something from "Lies about Satan" chapter and i believe that the things i would highlight here from that chapter would be very helpful to everyone.

I want to highlight here one of the lies about satan that the authors exposed in this book and that is the lie that says ,"I've Never Been Exposed To Satanic Activities." 

I agree to the authors, if you ever looked at or read your horoscope, participated in psychic activities, had your palm read, played a video game or watched a movie that portrayed demonic forces or witchcraft in a positive way, read popular books about witches, sorcerers and other occult characters, practice yoga, then,  you've been exposed to satanic activites. Read my blog about horoscope versus God's word after you read this book review.

Those activities are exposed in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 which were also quoted in that discussion. It says, "There shall not be found among you....anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interpret omens, or sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord."

I also agree to  these statements: "God's people are clearly have nothing to do with divination, interpreting omens or signs (like horoscopes and fortune-telling), or anyone who is a medium or spiritist who consults the dead (like psychics). But psychic television shows are now mainstream, and even many Christians are being drawn to them."

Other statements i liked in this chapter are the following and should be warnings to all of us:

"Many popular books, movies, and games feature witches, sorcerers, and other occult characters. Anything that presents these characters as heroes, anything that incites curiousity or encourages experimentation and exploration of things related to the occult is dangerous and should be avoided.

"Yoga is a popular exercise craze that is considered harmless, even beneficial, by many believers. But did you know that yoga is rooted in "the religious beliefs and practices of ....Indian religions? Its original goal was achieving blissful union with the Supreme Brahman, the supreme spirit of Hinduism. The term "yoga" comes from the ancient Sanskrit word "yug", which means "to yoke". Many of the positions of yoga were created to worship gods such as the sun and the moon."

In "Lies About Myself" chapter, i liked the statements there, "Our view of ourselves either enables us to do what God has created us to do or limits us from becoming all He means for us to be." 

In that chapter, the authors exposed one of the lies that young women believe,  that is, "beautiful girls are worth more" and  with that, the world's standard of so-called beauty has made it hard to see your own worth. 

I liked their statements there: " Many girls we talked to said that they feel ugly or fat or both.Others said they hated themselves and felt worthless because of how they looked. There is an underlying sense that if you dont meet a certain standard of "beauty", you don't have value; you don't matter. Ouch! Lies we believe about our appearance can be deadly and so difficult to overcome. We can know the truth in our heads and still find ourselves reeling from the emotions of it all."

In addition, there  are some statements in that chapter that would really  remind you of what is really the truth about beauty and the author were able to really define true beauty based from the scriptures. They wrote: "First, remember that physical beauty is temporary....you don't want a quick fix, temporary fix, do you? You want healing at the deepest level. So you've got to go to the Word of God for the Truth. It reminds us that "charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain" (Proverbs 31:30). Every older woman you know can attest to that fact that external beauty is fleeting and that our culture's obsession with staying young-looking is an exercise in futility! Thankfully, however, there is a kind of beauty that does last: Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious (1 Peter 3;3-4). These verses aren't saying you can't shop til you drop (as long as you don 't overspend) or that having a great new haircut is sinful. Nowhere does Scripture condemn physical beauty or our expression of it. What is condemned is giving excessive attention to your outward beauty while you neglect the beauty of your heart. You will likely never be at peace with how God created you until you grasp this: You've got to be more focused on your internal beauty than your external beauty."

 

In that chapter also, i liked the simple test they wrote if you're focused on the kind of beauty that lasts. Here's the test: " Today did you spend MORE time: in front of the mirror, making yourself beautiful on the outside OR in  God's word, developing inner beauty of heart and character?"

In Lies About Guys chapter, what i really liked there were these statements:

"...the lies girls believe about guys are some of the most powerful lies and have the potential to expose girls' hearts to deep, long-term hurt." I agree to that.

"If your future marriage has the potential to show the world the incredible love and grace of God, doesn't it make sense that Satan would want to try to destroy that picture? 

" If you approach marriage in God's timing and with a pure heart, it will likely prove to be one of the most wonderful experiences and gifts of your life."

"God does not want you to "awaken love" until the time is right."

"Not only does God want you to marry a Christian; He wants you to marry a man who will lead you spiritually."

I also liked the Truth-Seekers Relationship Pledge that they wrote in that chapter. It says, "I purpose never become involved in a relationship with a guy who is not a true follower of Jesus Christ and whose character and lifestyle are not consistent with the kind of man I believe God wants me to marry someday." I encourage young women to read this pledge as a prayer before God and really fulfill it. 

These statements are also awakening and a good reminder to everyone: "In some of the most liberal studies conducted on the sexual habits of Americans, it was discovered that those who did not engage in sex prior to marriage were more sexually satisfied. It went on to further state that the "religiously active" were among the most sexually satisfied. He wants you to wait-so you can experience the greatest possible sexual fulfillment-in a covenant marriage relationship."

Final Words

This book is very enlightening and very liberating because of the truth that is found in the Word of God. I liked what the authors said in the last few pages and i agree to them, they wrote: "True freedom is found in a vital, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus (the living word of God has revealed himself in the scripture (the written Word of God). If we want to know Him, we must devote ourselves to reading, study and meditation on the written word. There is no substitute , and there are no shortcuts, the enemy is constantly confronting us with his lies. In order to combat his deception, our minds and hearts must be filled with the Lord Jesus and saturated with the Word. But its not enough to know the truth. We must be willing to change our thinking and our lifestyle in any area that is inconsistent with the truth as it is revealed in the Word of God.

This book is not only a must to read for all young women but i believe that this is also for young men and for adults. The things that i highlighted here are just a taste of this book. There is more in it...there are a lot of things you could learn from it. Grab a copy now and be set free from the lies you believe.

Copyright © 2010 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.