About

About Jan 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 and recently (finally!) a baby granddaughter.

My Spiritual Journey: Saved by His Death...& His Life

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled [made friends] to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [delivered] by His life. Romans 5:10

I grew up in a devout Catholic home in New Jersey in the 1950's & '60's.  Through the teaching and example of my mother and my grandmother, I was drawn by the Holy Spirit to the things of God.  I remember loving to look through our big family Bible with my mom, even though there were very few pictures.  My mother emphasized that the most important thing in life was to do the will of God.  And this truth absorbed my mind and heart throughout my life.

She also talked about heaven and how to get there --loving & obeying God, being good, and fulfilling the laws of the Church.  Her favorite verse was 1Cor 2:9:

Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Later in my life,  I found that this didn't just refer to heaven but to the here and now for those who know the Lord.

When I was around the age of 12, we children in the Catholic school I attended began preparing for our Confirmation.  This was a very important time for me.  I remember really desiring to receive the Holy Spirit, which is what this sacrament "promised."  So I took it very seriously and counted on the fact that the Holy Spirit really did come to live within.

In my search for the will of God in my life, I entered a convent after my freshman year in college.  I had a Mother Superior who loved the Scriptures and taught from them.  She also encouraged us to read them for ourselves. So I began to love God's Word during that time.  But I struggled with not getting married or having a family -- was it really God's will for me to be there?  After two years, I realized through the counsel of my priest/cousin that if I was doing the will of God, I would have peace.  So with that reassurance, I left the convent and returned home.

I taught 4th grade in a parochial school during that next school year.  One of the things I loved to do was decorate the classroom. One month, I did a bulletin board for my classroom with the caption:  "JESUS IS THE ANSWER."  But I remember thinking, "What's the question?"  God would soon answer.

I had come out of the convent with only an associate degree.  So I decided to go to the University of Arizona to complete my BA in education.  This was during the time that the Jesus Movement was in full swing.  Within the first month in Tucson, I met some students from a campus ministry who clearly shared the GOSPEL with me:

GOD LOVES ME :  But God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

I'M A SINNER & SEPARATED FROM GOD:  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

CHRIST DIED FOR MY SINS:  Christ died for sins, once for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God... 1Peter 3:18

I RECEIVE CHRIST AND HIS SALVATION BY FAITH:  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 But as many as receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. John 1:12

Now it all made sense...how "Jesus is the answer."  He's the God-Man who bridges the gap between God and us:

The Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

We don't work our way to God.  We receive eternal life (the life of God right now and then, of course, on into heaven) as a free gift.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast [take credit]. Ephesians 2:8-9.

So then the good things we do and the godly character that's formed are the result of being a new creation in Christ and allowing the living Christ within (eternal life, the life of God) to live through us.

Years later a little book by Andrew Murray would transform my Christian walk in this regard, Abide in Christ.  That's when I adopted the motto, "I'm just a Branch!"  The Life of Christ the Vine will flow in and through me as I just rest in Him as a branch.

I am the Vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me , and I in Him, bears much fruit.  For apart from Me, you can do nothing. John 15:5

I wouldn't want to live any other way!

Thanks for joining me in the Journey!

For an extended biography, click here My Spiritual Journey

Doctrinal Position

My doctrinal position is basically the same as that of Network 220.

Contact me

I'd love to hear from you! Send me an email.