I have two younger sisters, Linda and Nancy. At Easter every year, our mom would dress us up in our ruffly Easter dresses, shoes, purses, and of course, bonnets. Since I am the oldest of the three, my Easter clothes were usually brand new. My younger two sisters, on the other hand, had hand-me-downs, but they were “new to them.” This was especially true when it came to our Easter bonnets.
Read MoreNow I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
So goes a traditional nighttime prayer taught by American moms to their children for generations. It may seem odd to us today that there would be the mention of death in a child's prayer. But scientists say that sleep is the closest we come to death while still alive. The Greeks even had a proverb,
Sleep and death are brothers.
However, in the first century, Jewish moms taught their children a different bedtime prayer...quoting Psalm 31:
Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.
Read MoreTetelestai!* It is finished! The death of Christ on the Cross is the HINGE of human history...and nowbefore He breathes His last breath... a cry of victory,It is finished!
What's finished? It must be something BIG,...look at what happened when Jesus died:
At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.
Read MoreI’m not Irish except in the sense that everyone is Irish on St Patrick’s Day.
So this week, I’m returning to a beloved “hymn”. Today more than ever we need the beautiful truths expressed in what is traditionally known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate.
St Patrick's Breastplate is a Celtic hymn, usually attributed to St Patrick, that is sung around his feast day (March 17th). There are many variations to this hymn.* But I have chosen a simple version to share with you.
Read MoreThirst is a primal need in all of us humans...more demanding even than hunger! We can go quite awhile without eating, but a very short time without drinking. Jesus on the Cross had refrained up to this point from satisfying His thirst. Instead He drank the Father's cup to the very last drop. He became sin for us...the Sinless One. Jesus took our place. Now in fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus expresses His own physical need:
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. John 19:28-29 ESV
Read MoreAbandoned. With no Rescuer in sight. What happens next in the unfolding drama of the crucifixion of our Lord is a mystery. Let's watch it unfold...
It is noon.
Read MoreDear woman, behold your son...behold your mother. (John 19:26)
Jesus has a special love for His own. As we've already seen with His forgiving and saving attitude in the midst of excruciating agony, His concern was not with His own suffering. Rather His attention was next drawn to His precious loved ones at the foot of His cross, His mother and His beloved disciple John.
What agony Jesus must have seen on Mary's face.
Read MoreTruly 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.
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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