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.

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.

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.

Is Faith Reasonable?

Is Faith Reasonable?

By Rob Lowrance 

As a Rational, specifically as an INTJ, I find this question quite pertinent. INTJs can be quite relentless in questioning things and so it is to be expected that things that others hold sacrosanct are up for critique for the INTJ. This is not to say that each INTJ might have things which they hold dear and have spared from their own critiquing nature. For me, though, faith is one of those things which I have questioned time and time again. In particular, having been raised as a Christian, I have often questioned if faith is reasonable in that context. This is where I will focus the following post.

INTJs and You: A Guide To Understanding The INTJ In Your Life

INTJs and You: A Guide To Understanding The INTJ In Your Life

By Rob Lowrance

Note: To any INTJs reading this. If these things don’t describe you, take it as a challenge to write your own guide to give to the important people in your life.

Why would you care about what INTJs are like? Well, you are currently involved with one. And since you haven’t run screaming into the hills, perhaps you would like to know what to expect from your INTJ and how the two of you can make it work out.

What do those pesky letters mean?

If you are not familiar with the personality types, you may be wondering what INTJ actually means. The letters themselves mean Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging. However, this doesn’t really explain what it means.

Effectively, personality type can be determined by answering four questions. (This is not to be confused with a personality test, which may use many questions to answer these four.) The four questions are:

1.     How do you tend to obtain your energy?

2.     How do you prefer to perceive information?

3.     How do you prefer to make decisions?

4.     How do you tend to organize your world?

The first question determines whether you are an Introvert (I) or an Extravert (E). Introverts tend to recharge by turning inward and not interacting with others. Conversely, Extraverts tend to recharge by turning outward and interacting with others.

The second question determines whether you are Intuitive (N) or Sensing (S). Sensors prefer to perceive information primarily through their senses. i.e. They perceive the here and now. Conversely, Intuitives prefer to perceive things abstractly or how they could be. i.e. They perceive what can be or what will be.

The third question determines whether you are Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). The Thinker tends to be more objective in decisions. i.e. Thinkers are analytical and tend to not allow emotions to affect decisions. The Feeler is more subjective in decisions. i.e. Feelers tend to be sensitive to how decisions will affect self and others.

The fourth question determines whether you are Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). The Judger tends to have a plan. The Perceiver tends to be more spontaneous.

Just because someone is categorized a particular way does not mean that they cannot work outside of this category. So, an Introvert can enjoy being around people. It is just that in general, an Introvert will not be energized by situations and will probably need some time alone. Likewise, an Extravert is generally recharged by being around people, but that Extravert also has moments when he or she needs to be alone.