I used to think that the struggle to forgive was itself sinful...as well as the horrible feelings I had in the whole thing. But I've come to realize that the struggle and the feelings are all part of the human condition on this earth. Perhaps they are rather temptations to the sin of unforgiveness.
Here are the five points that Lewis Smedes writes in his bookShame and Grace. I pray these points will be helpful to you as well.
Read MoreFrom dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.
Ash Wednesday has taken on a new meaning for me in recent years, since my 91 year old mom passed away early in November 2015. There was something that arrested me right in my tracks the day of my mom's funeral. I was undone by deep sobs of realization. And the depth of it had been helped along by the incense and the reverence afforded the treatment of my dear mama's frail little body being put to rest (or so they say).
But it wasn't the finality of it all. It had already been final when she had breathed her last, days before.
No! It was the Sacredness that came crashing through!
Read MoreHi friends, no crocuses are pushing through the hardened soil here in Ohio. Usually by now, those hardy “souls” have at least given us a bit of hope of the spring ahead.
So I thought of this post and how it could “color up” our souls while we await what surely is to come. So pause with me as we revisit a post from May 2016.
Read MoreGod lives a colorful life . . . or maybe better said, God lives His life in color!
All we need do is look around. Color is everywhere . . . in nature, in people, even in feelings, ideas, and circumstances.
Much of my life I lived under the "frown of God," or so I thought. I wasn't a bad kid; in fact, I was quite religious and moral. But I wasn't perfect for sure. (For one thing, I was a terrible big sister, mean and self-centered toward my siblings.) But I knew God required perfection, so I was always working my way down a spiritual "to do list" of some kind (depending on the Christian group I was with. They each had their own, you know).
Read MoreToday I would like to share with you what has become my "spiritual survival image."
Why?
Because life can be overwhelming, frustrating (people and circumstances don't always cooperate with our "plans"...amazing!), and stressful to the point of sending us "over the edge."
So here is where the Lord always seems to take me, even in the dark, even in the not-knowing...perhaps especially in the not-knowing.
Read MoreYou are the salt of the earth.
But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again?…
Salt! What a prolific commodity!
In the past salt was valuable and rare. But now it is cheap, always there, on the table, in the cupboard ... available. And so taken for granted -- by me, at least ... UNTIL a few days ago.
Let all that you do be done in love. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But we know it’s often very hard.
In fact, Paul's words in verse 9 nail it on the head, don't they:
...there are many adversaries...
That's right! Enemies, opposition, struggles! All against loving...why?
Read MoreThere is a gem of a hymn that really grabs my heart and soul. I almost forgot about it until someone commented on an old post containing the song. The hymn? -- "The Love of God." The metaphor in the third stanza absorbs my mind and imagination:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,…
I’ve always been a worker-bee. Well, perhaps not as a child. As an adult, though, and especially as a Christian, I’ve been a worker-bee. I found great pleasure in life by accomplishing a goal, but there was a driven-ness in this way of living. I’ve discovered that being a worker-bee is especially dangerous, spiritually. I’ve lived for a long time under the yoke of what I call "to-do list" Christianity. What a bondage. Self-effort doesn't work when it comes to doing what only God can do,which is anything of any spiritual value. That's why I love the Lord's invitation to the weary, burdened folk who followed Him:
Ah! REST...what a glorious word! I inhale and exhale deeply at just the sound of it. And oh, how we humans need deep, glorious rest... Moms especially need it...as do dads. Single folks need it; workers need it; retirees do, too..Even kids need it (although they would protest most loudly...especially in the midst of the frenetic-ness of no-sleep sleepovers!)
I remember as a mom of an infant how I longed for rest, praying my crying-in-the-middle-of-the-night baby would just fall quietly back to dreamland. Or my napping toddler would stay napping so I could lie prostrate for just a few more moments (Please, God!) And now, even as a senior retired adult, that beautiful rest calls my name more often than not in the midst of my afternoons. So I often take to my overstuffed couch and doze as I watch the old westerns from my childhood.
Read MoreFebruary is American Heart Month. How appropriate since February is also the month of Valentine’s Day, celebrating the heart’s favorite emotion — LOVE.
Well, "February, American Heart Month" has taken on new meaning because the “love of my life” had a heart attack more than seven years ago. So this brought lots of changes to both of our lives, but especially his. And cardiac rehab played a big part in those weeks after. As many heart patients know, cardiac rehab takes a village…
Read MoreI couldn't resist posting this again … the quirkiest thing — “glass igloos.” Well, it got me meditating here in the midst of a deep freeze up north. So why not hunker down in your own “warm igloo” and join me …
First posted Jan 10, 2015
Read MoreTwo years ago, a friend on Facebook posted this picture of thermal glass igloos to view the Northern Lights in Finland:
Baby, it's cold outside. Sub-zero temps; ice-covered ground; more white stuff on its way? A great time to hibernate.
But it need not be cold inside ... especially inside your soul, as you bask in the warmth of God's loving truth. The Scriptures are ever old and ever new, and never out of reach. So the fire of God's Word is always accessible.
Read MoreThe last in my “Joy in January” series, originally posted in January 2015, is a post written by my youngest “Guest Branch” and my oldest grandchild Kaden. When he wrote it, he was just 8-1/2 y.o. and now he is almost 15 … how can that be? So it’s my delight once again to share this awesome blog. We can all learn from the young ones in the faith, can’t we?
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children [and grandchildren] are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 ESV
It is pure JOY for me to introduce my youngest "Guest Branch" to A Branch in the Vine. My 8-1/2 year old grandson Kaden is today's blogger.
Read MoreA friend recently posted an arresting thought on facebook:
Your value doesn't decrease, based on someone's inability to see your worth.
Truth!
Where does our value lie? Our value is based on our Creator's opinion of us...which is love and grace and glory!
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 1 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
He has planted His own life in us through His glorious Son. So whatever our Father God thinks about His beloved Son, He thinks of us also!
Life, glorious life! How we take life for granted, until...
someone we love dies,
our health or safety is gravely threatened,
we realize our days are waning because of the years...
It is then that we value what we've had all along.
But there's a Life that we never need fear will diminish, be endangered, be lost...
In fact, this Life can grow in our experience even in this time-based, fearful, waning physical life.
What is this Life?
Read MoreBrothers & sisters, are you amazed, as am I?
Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. (Colossians 1:27 NLT)
The Lord Jesus Christ in you! The Lord Jesus Christ in me! What glory right here...right now!
The Sovereign Creator of the Universe lives in each of His children! His life courses through our spiritual veins! What glory for this life as well as the life to come!
Read MoreI’m so excited to share this blog post with you, dear friends. Let me tell you why…
The Lord has been teaching me afresh to slow down and to watch & wait for His movement and direction, His “signal,” so to speak, before forging on ahead. He has been doing this through Psalm 123:2 and my word of the year, Wait on God.
In the process, I have shared my thoughts in my blog post (New Year, New Word) and in conversations. One such conversation took place recently with my sweet, young friend Rebekah VanBuskirk via Facebook Messenger. What Rebekah shared with me was so amazingly illustrative of the heart of the whole issue of watching and waiting, I knew it was too good to keep to myself. So I asked Rebekah to share here at A Branch in the Vine.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit has been flooding my email, my mailbox, and my thought life with messages about mentoring that all seem to be weaving seamlessly together … all within 24 hours. Let me share.
First, thoughts about two spiritually gifted sisters in the Lord with the realization from the Lord
Read MoreI had an interesting conversation with a friend about mentoring. We marveled at how so many Christians we know, who have matured in the Lord through the help of a mentor, end up being rejected by that same mentor for not agreeing with them on minor points of doctrine or practice, or for moving on in a different direction in ministry, or for some other difference of opinion. How sad. But how common!
Well, there is good news! There is a gem of a spiritual father tucked away in the gospels, one of my heroes of the faith, John the Baptist! He shows us what a true mentor is like. John is not only a clear example of "letting go," but also a stellar model of attachment to his Lord Jesus Christ.
Read MoreJanet 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.
