Friday, February 28, 2014

You Might Be An INTJ If …

1.  your mother ever made you come watch TV with the family.
2.  you realize a year later that a girl (or boy) had been flirting with you.
3.  you won’t allow your daughter/sister/female friend to date anyone whom you have not thoroughly vetted.
4.  you answer Yes/No questions with, ‘It depends ….’
5.  your eyebrows are the most expressive part of your face.
6.  people think you are angry or upset when in fact you are just thinking.
7.  boredom is a dangerous thing.
8.  it takes you days to figure out what you are feeling.
9.  people don’t understand your jokes. And if they do, they are fellow Ns.
10. you can debate on the side of an issue that you don’t hold.
11. you’ve done so much research on a subject that people think you are an expert, but you’ve never taken a class in it.
12. you prefer criticism, because praise doesn’t help you improve. (Although, personally, I am finding that I need praise, because my view of myself is far too negative.)
13. you’ve been told you would make a great super-villain. And then you scare people even more when you admit that you had considered it as a career choice at one time.
14. you can’t talk about something private with someone without also avoiding eye contact.
15. you are always at least five steps ahead of everyone around you.
16. you are easily frustrated by those around you, but rarely become truly angry.
17. you have a black belt in sarcasm.
18. you feel like you have a lot in common with the villains in movies and books.
19. people have ever hoped you would get a bad grade on a test so you wouldn’t wreck the curve, and you gladly disappointed them.
20. you understand almost everyone else, but they can’t seem to ever understand you.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Why I Think I Want To Marry An ENFP

Introduction:
This is an addendum and/or expansion of my previous post. As I related there, I am not looking for an easy match, so much as I am looking for a match that will provide balance for us both. With an ENFP, I would find someone who would complement my strengths in such a way that we are stronger together than apart.

In this, I went through the four letter descriptors for INTJ and ENFP and compared them. Here, I would like to give more specifics. In particular, I would like to shed more light on where she will help me and where I will help her.

In the midst of all of this, I have come to a greater realization that God is going to have to work all of this out for me. I did some calculations based on demographics of certain characteristics and have found that there may be as many as two ENFPs where I live who match what I am looking for in such considerations as age, maturity, spirituality, and intelligence. Considering my town has about 32,000 inhabitants, this doesn’t give very good odds of us ever finding each other. Hence, the realization that God will have to bring this about.

Now, this is not going to be the easiest match by any means. But I do think that this is the kind of woman that God has designed me for. There will be several (or many) challenges, but good things often are also difficult.

Part of the challenge comes from the fact that we will balance each other. The very act of balancing, while good, presents potential areas of conflict. At the same time, however, this also gives more opportunities to disciple each other and to encourage each other to be more like Christ. In covering each other’s weaknesses, we will be far stronger together than apart.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

What Qualities Best Match The INTJ In Marriage?

I have seen a great deal of discussion of what personalities best match the INTJ in a relationship. And of course, the most commonly discussed match seems to be that of the INTJ-ENFP. Some say, “No, ENTP is better.” Debate abounds. The truth is, there is no monolithic answer. Each INTJ is different, with different experiences and desires.

Of course, in all of this, many believe that their partner or spouse needs to complete them. However, this puts pressure on a relationship that is unreasonable. We need to be complete in God. A spouse can never fill those shoes. Rather, spouses should complement. They are complete individuals in their own rights, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Upon being joined together by God in marriage, they become stronger together than they could ever be apart.

With that in mind, here are some qualities or characteristics that I have been looking for, because these are things where we can complement each other.

Friday, February 14, 2014

A Man’s Sexuality: A Gift From God For His Wife

Introduction:
We live in an over-sexualized culture. Don’t get me wrong. Sex is not wrong, in the appropriate context. In fact, in the right context, it is holy.

So many men in our culture are out for whatever they can get. They spend their sexuality upon themselves and use women to do it. But this is not why men were given their sexuality.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

True Love … Serves

Introduction:
You may have heard the saying, “True love waits.” While this is true, it falls far short of all that exemplifies true love.

You see true love is concerned with its object. True love isn’t out to get something from its object; rather, true love seeks to give of itself to its object. The goal of true love isn’t what it can get, but rather, what it can give.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Abraham and the Gospel

Introduction:
The Gospel was first revealed in the Old Testament. Not in all of the detail that we see in the New Testament, of course, but it is there. The very first pulling back of the curtain of revelation is in Genesis 3, right after Adam and Eve had sinned and been confronted by God. God proclaimed that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. We find another pulling back of the curtain of revelation in the life of Noah, that God would preserve a people from wrath. There are others, of course, but I think my favorite is how the Gospel was revealed to Abraham.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Sacrificing Isaac

Sometimes our Lord asks us to sacrifice something that we hold dear. And sometimes He asks us to sacrifice something that He has promised us. This was what He asked Abraham to do.

Abraham could have argued with God, “But he is the son that You promised me!”

But this isn’t what Abraham did. He didn’t argue with God. He didn’t try to find a way out. Instead, we are told that he believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead. And Abraham obeyed in faith. This wasn’t a blind faith, because God had proved Himself over and over before this. And Abraham’s trust was well placed.

Is there something in your life that He has asked you to sacrifice to Him? Is it something that He has promised to you? Is it something that you hold dear?

Will you trust Him?

Will I trust Him? I find myself in this situation right now.

“I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24, NET). In context, Jesus was talking about His own coming death.

I think that if the disciples had been asked if they would willingly give up His physical presence at that time, they would have said no. But this was necessary. And through His death, He brought many to life.

This is the potential of a seed. Symbolically, Isaac was the seed of the promise to Abraham. In willingly releasing this seed into God’s hands, the seed bore much fruit.

Are you holding onto a bunch of seeds? Maybe God will ask you to sacrifice them. But the exchange is nearly one-sided, because you will get back far more than you lose. And, as with Abraham, you may receive the promise back. (See Gen. 22:12.)

Even if not, He is worth the price you have been asked to pay.