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Girls Life Application Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 14


12
Brittany // 14
My sister and her friend were trying to fix me up. Their plan was to walk
downtown with their boyfriends and me and “accidentally” meet this guy
they had picked out for me.
When I realized what was happening, my mind started racing—thinking
about what I could do and say to make this guy think I was cool. I wanted
to make a good impression on him and get him to like me.
Then I changed my mind—why should I pretend to be something that I’m
not just to get him to find me attractive. I decided I was going to be myself
and let him like me or not like me for who I really was—not someone I was
pretending to be.
Jesus refused to play the approval game by trying to impress the religious
leaders. Their approval meant nothing to him. His only goal was to please
God (his Father in heaven) and do what God sent him to earth to do.
The real love that’s most important to me comes from God, who accepts me
even though he knows I’m not perfect. When I talk to him about my faults,
he doesn’t get upset. He helps me do better. I want his approval more than
anything a boyfriend can give me.
Jesus tells us what he thinks of gaining others’ approval in John 5:41-44.
Whose praise do you seek? The religious leaders enjoyed great prestige in Israel,
but their stamp of approval meant nothing to Jesus. He was concerned about
God’s approval. This is a good principle for us. If even the highest officials in the
world approve of our actions and God does not, we should be concerned. But
if God approves, even though others don’t, we should be content.
• Made in God’s image, see Genesis 1:1-27.
• Valuable in God’s sight, see Luke 12:7.
Did you know that the word “Bible” means “book”? So when
someone says “the Holy Bible,” they are really saying “the
Holy Book.” So why do we as Christians read, teach, trust,
admire, and even love this holy book? In a word, it is all about
relationship—God’s relationship with his children and our
relationships with one another.
THE BIBLE IS A BOOK
ABOUT RELATIONSHIP
As Christians, we believe that the Bible is God’s Word—God’s
account of his relationship with his children from Creation
through the formation of the first Christian churches and his
message of love to us. God has been communicating with his
people from the very beginning of time. He walked with Adam
and Eve in the Garden, he spoke to Moses in the burning
bush, and he visited his prophets in dreams and visions.
Ultimately, he came himself as a human, Jesus, so that our
relationship with him, which had been broken by sin, could be
restored.
After Jesus ascended to heaven, he sent us the Holy Spirit
so that we would know his voice and follow his teachings. The
Holy Spirit lives inside of us and helps us as we sincerely seek
to know God. Through worship, prayer, and reading the Bible,
the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to who God is and encourages
us to become the people he created us to be.
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