I hope this thread helps many people. :) Thank you in advance to those who read it. I would also like to thank Hollie (lil_rush) because without her, this thread probably would have been forgotten and never written. We have both contributed to this thread and we have both worked very hard on it. Again, I hope it helps someone. Even if it's just one person, I will still look on this as a success. [b]Part One: Love vs. Lust[/b] One of the major problems I often see on Mypraize is the fact that the young ladies that ask about dating and other related topics frequently do not understand the difference between love and lust. As we are young, we often go through stages where we think we love one guy one day and a different guy the next. This is a perfect example of lust. Did you know that lust is a sin? Did you know that, in certain situations, lust is considered adultery? [color=#FF0000]Matthew 5:28- But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.[/color] Why do we lust after so many things when we know it is a sin? [color=#FF0000]Mark 4:19- And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 1 John 2:15-17- Love not the world, neither the things [i]that are[/i] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that [i]is[/i] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. [/color] I believe that if we would all take the time to stop and pray for a while, we could put an end to these lusting habits. Love is a powerful thing. I have not experienced such a thing, but the Bible tells of it. [color=#FF0000]John 3:16- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.[/color] How could anything get more powerful than that? Love is quite an amazing thing, indeed. As teenagers, we have many "false alarms" of love, and each break-up seems like the end of the world. However, I don't believe we should worry. I believe that God has a plan for everything. If he wants us to find love, we will find it. All we need to do is keep our faith. [b]Part Two: Marriage[/b] Before I begin, I would just like to say that I am only covering this topic very lightly. I do not believe I have the wisdom to cover it any more than I am, so I am going with what God gave me. Another issue that bothers me is the fact that many of you do not understand why we date. It's not just for the heck of it. It's so that we can find the one that we will spend the rest of our life with. On that note: [color=#FF0000]Hebrews 13:4- Marriage is honorable in all....[/color] I think we need to fully understand marriage before we date. We don't want to get into anything without knowing about it first, especially something as "honorable" as marriage. Marriage is not something to be taken lightly, obviously, and neither is dating. Which brings me back to the beginning. The point of this thread was to help the young ladies understand dating and why we take it so seriously better and to possibly provide support for those who are already at the dating age. I hope you enjoyed my part of the thread. :) -Kayla

I once got told you can't lust after someone you love... I don't know if I agree though. I don't know if it's lust when you're married Courtney, it would be more of a desire. I have more to say but I'm going to say it tomorrow when I have more time to read it :)

The dictionary defines lust as: 1. intense sexual desire or appetite. 2. uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness. 3. a passionate or overmastering desire or craving Although lust is mainly put with the desire to have sex it can be linked with other things too but generally all are sinful.