For 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….
The connection of JOY with singing for week 3 of Advent makes me think of a meditation from our newly published book of meditations, Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in our Every Day (see FREE offer below). Grabbing hold of Him who is the fullness of JOY throughout our day is easier when we “wake up singing.”
Enjoy this meditation with us. And may you be blessed to see there is JOY in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is Jesus, our Emmanuel.
“Don’t be afraid!” he said.
“I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people.
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David! …
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others
—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
My Child...
Fear not...you are never alone for I am with you!
Fear not...you are never left out for you are one with Me !
Fear not...you are never condemned, but always accepted! I not only love you...I like you!
Fear not...you are always adequate with My adequacy...no matter how helpless and inadequate you feel!
Fear not...you are alive with my everlasting, indestructible life, no matter how dead you feel inside! I am your Life!
I AM in your "right here, right now," whether it be suffering in a hospital room or struggling over a wardrobe choice in your closet...and everything in between...I am with you!
Read MoreGrabbing hold of Him who is the fullness of PEACE has been key for me and many others who find ourselves in the midst of anxiety.
May you be blessed to see there is great PEACE in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is your Almighty God, Emmanuel, Prince of PEACE….
O Prince of Peace, this Christmas time and always …
Lord, make me an instrument of your PEACE:
where there is hatred, let me sow love; …
… The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, PRINCE of PEACE.
His government and its PEACE will never end.
Oh how we long for PEACE — especially as our world is riddled with wars, violence, hatred, racism, suffering of all kinds. And hasn’t it always been so? This is nothing unusual in this fallen world.
Read More… The truths here have been intensely practical for my own life and the lives of many others with whom I’ve shared.
May you be blessed to see there is great HOPE in the midst of what may be your very hard circumstances when your Source is your Almighty God, Emmanuel (God With YOU!)
I’ve always loved Advent. Advent used to call to me, even as a child, that Someone Important was coming … God! Emmanuel, Jesus. And as far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved Jesus.
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.
