Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. Luke 23:43
Jesus seems to have a special love for lost people. I love the stories He tells in Luke 15. The first is the beloved story of the shepherd who has a hundred sheep but leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost. Then when he finds his lost one, he calls in his neighbors and friends to rejoice with him.
Read MoreChrist’s first saying from the Cross ushers us into our basic need as fallen humanity. Listen in and reflect on the amazing love and grace of our forgiving Lord …
Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet, once said,To err is human; to forgive, divine.
So true...but we humans more readily echo what someone else has said,
To err is human, but to get even? THAT is divine.
We struggle so, with forgiving our offenders! Perhaps that's why we are amazed and awestruck to realize that Jesus' first words from the Cross were ones of forgiveness.
Read MoreThe last words of a dying person are significant. They are so final and so revealing of what is uppermost in a person's mind as he is leaving this earth to face his Maker.
I have been with several dying persons just shortly before their deaths. My grandmother died an untimely death. She had been hospitalized after a heart attack, but wasn’t expected to die. But she did die, just before being released. I had visited her from out of town just days before.
Read MoreIt feels odd to be thinking of ashes and death (signifying the beginning of Lent) and at the same time be celebrating love and loved ones. But for most of us the two do connect….
Read MoreSharing this once more before Valentine’s Day turns into Lent.
… As far back as I can remember, I have always loved God. I can’t remember when I had the very first loving thoughts and feelings toward God. But He has always been most important to me. …
My granddaughter Claire asked me one day,
“Babci, Who told you about God?”
My immediate reply,
“My mommy told me about God.” And she had because God was her life.
Read MoreLove songs often sound like songs we could sing to God or even songs God could sing to us. Our human expressions of earthly love are shadows of a perfect love relationship we all inherently crave, but will never find in this world. Such a pervasive longing is evidence that a there is Someone who truly has loved us to the end.
Read More… When my husband John and I were seniors at the University of Arizona, the Carpenters were at the top of the music charts. We embraced them as “our group” who sang “our songs” as we were "a-courting." Their mellow sound and rich melodies fed our romantic feelings toward each other and toward life in general.
… We have come to realize only an Almighty God could fulfill those unrealistic expectations….
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God …Romans 8:16 NASB
. . . Thus far we have seen that Jesus HIMSELF has said He will never, ever, ever leave us, nor forsake us. And He HIMSELF is our Peace in the midst of turmoil and conflict. Then we saw that Jesus wanted His followers (including us) to know He is not the only one who loves us. His Father HIMSELF loves us.
Now we see the Holy Spirit HIMSELF reminding us when we forget something incredibly important …
Do you know in the depths of your being that God your Father loves you and even likes you? Or do you feel like He just tolerates, puts up with you?
Does negative self-talk dog your steps? Are these your thoughts and maybe even words out of your mouth:
Read MoreFor he himself is our peace…
Ephesians 2:13-14a
Peace is a Person. Peace is not an entity that God pours down on us if we ask correctly. No, a Person, the Lord Jesus, is Peace. And if we have that Person, we have Peace residing within us.
Read More… for He Himself has said,
“I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”
… As you may recall, Himself is my word for 2024.
He Himself! Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God and Son of Man.
He Himself has been and will continue to be the Focus, the Emphasis of my life, because He IS my LIFE….
… we are like the star that led the Magi to Christ … or we can be. We can, in our very person, be the light that points another to the King. You and I have the King of Kings living within us. But as always it is our choice whether we allow the King to live through us and manifest His presence to seeking hearts who are walking in darkness all around us.
Author Tim Chester, in his lovely Advent devotional on Philippians 2 The One True Gift, caught my attention when he pointed out from Scripture one way that God says we can shine like stars …
Read MoreDrumroll — my new 2024 word “Himself.”
I know…does this word seems odd? What do I mean by “Himself”?
Maybe I need to add the important word that comes before: “HE.” The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Simply HE HIMSELF and nothing added in.
Here we are again, friends. Another year has past, and for many it’s a time for the infamous “New Year’s Resolutions.” But several years ago I turned away from that initially hopeful, but later, dreaded “setting yourself up for failure,” tradition to a new thing altogether.
Resolutions are no temptation to me anymore. I’ve given up trying to change myself by my own self-effort. The indwelling Christ is my “Game-changer” and my “Life-changer.” And a few years ago, He brought a lovely “new thing” to my attention … the idea of a word for my year.
Read MoreDo not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past.Behold, I will do something NEW, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19
Everyone has regrets...it's part of the human condition!
Read MoreIn the midst of our lives, and between the two great mountain peaks of God's acts in the world, we look back and remember, and we look forward and hope!
AW Tozer, From Heaven, p. 108
We live in the land between two Comings...But that raises the question, what about our life in-between?
Read MoreWhen I think of God’s Love in Jesus, I no longer think,”Yeh, He loves me, but then sometimes He loves me not.” Do you feel this way?
For this very short 4th week of Advent, I feel compelled to share the most critical turning point in my spiritual life. and this turning point is all about the “fullness of the love of God” for me truly and totally.
I love this song and this blog. It is an excerpt from my Bible study/ devotional book, The Witness of Our God: Relationship in Every Dimension. (See below)
Enjoy the backstory of this amazing hymn and several renditions of the song.
Then dig into the bible study that amplifies each line of the song with scripture. …
… Year after year, I have meditated in Tim Chester’s magnificent Advent devotional, The One True Light: Daily Readings for Advent from the Gospel of John. And every year, it is fresh and “as if for the first time.”
This year one thought has just “jumped off” the page … and has given me great JOY….
Janet Renner Loyd has been a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ most of her life. Her formal education includes a degree in education from the University of Arizona and also a degree in Bible & Theology from Moody Bible Institute. For more than thirty years, she has been involved in teaching and leading women’s Bible studies, retreats, and meetings…most notably Precept upon Precept and various studies that she has personally developed. Professionally, Jan recently retired from teaching language and writing to GED and adult ESOL students.
About her life, Jan says, “The most important thing about me is my relationship with my Father God through my Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to me and my family and friends...and the world.”
Jan has been happily married to John Loyd for more than forty years. They have two adult, married children and five lively young grandsons.
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