{"id":2977,"date":"2017-05-09T18:25:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T01:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2017-05-02T20:45:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T03:45:22","slug":"discussion-real-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/discussion-real-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion: Real Love"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cFish love\u201d Show the Video on the iPad or TV, screen.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski On Love\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CMcHtSjtNBY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\nReal love inspires giving, not taking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor everything in the world\u2014the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life\u2014comes not from the Father but from the world.\u201d -1 John 2:16<br \/>\nReal love involves sacrifice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJesus answered, \u201cIf you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.\u201d -Matthew 19:21<br \/>\n\u201cLove is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.\u201d -1 Corinthians 13:4-7<br \/>\nGod is love.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.\u201d -1 John 4:8<br \/>\nGod gives to us graciously.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d -Romans 5:8&nbsp;<br \/>\nGod gives to us sacrificially.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.\u201d -1 John 3:16<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.\u201d -John 10:11,&nbsp;<br \/>\nGod wants us to be much better off than we were before we met Him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, \u201cThe harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.\u201d -Matthew 9:35-37<br \/>\nGod wants us to be in tune with Him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.\u201d &#8211; John 14:21<br \/>\nDo you want to know real love? Do you feel like you may be missing out on what real love really is? Draw closer to God, and He can show you. Read His word, and learn how He loves through the example of His son, Jesus.<br \/>\n\u201cCome near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.\u201d -James 4:8<br \/>\n\u201clet us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.\u201d -Hebrews 10:22<br \/>\nGod loves you and me, He died to bring us closer to Him, to make a relationship with us possible. I invite you to let His love embrace you, and to begin to let His love make you into a person of real love. If you honestly confess you have done things (sins) that separate you from God, and ask for God\u2019s forgiveness. Believe that He raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and say out loud to others that He is the leader of your life, who you trust to direct you and be your Lord. Then you will be cleansed from sin and saved from the hopeless isolation that results from a forever separation from God. I chose to pray this prayer to God, and I am so glad I did. If you have not asked God for forgiveness, and want to do that, talk with Karyn, Cyndi, or me about it, or you can even pray to God by yourself, but you just can\u2019t keep it a secret.&nbsp;<br \/>\n\u201cIf you declare with your mouth, \u201cJesus is Lord,\u201d and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.\u201d -Romans 10:9<br \/>\n-Ezra<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cFish love\u201d Show the Video on the iPad or TV, screen. Real love inspires giving, not taking. \u201cFor everything in the world\u2014the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life\u2014comes not from the Father but from the world.\u201d -1 John 2:16 Real love involves sacrifice.&nbsp; \u201cJesus answered, \u201cIf you&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/discussion-real-love\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Discussion: Real Love<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"series":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-voice\/id792284906","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/the-voice","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eYzrinZE1Z\"><a href=\"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/discussion-real-love\/\">Discussion: Real Love<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"http:\/\/upstreamteens.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/discussion-real-love\/embed\/#?secret=eYzrinZE1Z\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Discussion: Real Love&#8221; &#8212; The Voice\" data-secret=\"eYzrinZE1Z\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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