Are you tired of working hard doing the Christian life — the "to do/don't do" lists (which vary depending on the group you are with)? Are you ready to give up trying in your own strength to get the "abundant life" Jesus promised? John 10:10
Great! Then you are ready to read along with us the potentially life-changing truths contained in...
The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out,
by Dan Stone and David Gregory.
... On the last day of our time at the Jersey Shore, the inlet was calling to me. I thought back to the years when my mom and I would grab our beach chairs, drive down to the inlet, place ourselves along the rocks lining the waterway and wait for the horn to blow. The unique sound of the horn signals the opening of the bridge for the party fishing boats, making their way from the harbor to the sea.
Read MoreThe heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.[a]
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
Psalm 16:1-4a NLT
Another summer of sunrises at the Jersey Shore. Year by year, they do their speaking … always of the Glory of our Creator God … always of the gift of a new day …
Read MoreSunrises are always serendipities -- not that we don't expect them and not that they don't always come, but we never know what we will get. Each one is different, and each one is a gift from the hand of our Creator! Maybe the gift part is more true than we realize, because each sunrise signals a new day. And really, none of us is promised that day ahead of time...pure grace when it comes!
Read MoreI was walking one morning on the beach at sunrise, taking in the glory of the vastness of the Ocean (my favorite metaphor for God) and the littleness of me.
All of a sudden, I stopped dead in my tracks…Wait! I had just walked this way a few minutes ago.
Read MoreFor several years before my mom went home to Jesus, I spent lots of precious time with her on the coast in New Jersey. One of the highlights had always been my early morning walks along the beach at sunrise.
I’m returning to this blog that I wrote after a sweet summer with my mom at my sister's house in Belmar.
Maybe you too need some peaceful reflection today. Why not join me as I "go down the shore" and enjoy the glory of our great Creator in pictures (my own), Scriptures and song.
Blessings, my friend.
Read MoreFrom my very first year of blogging and many years since, I’ve been blogging my journeys to my “happy place”…the Jersey Shore.
A portion of this blogpost is a trip into yesteryear —one of my early Jersey shore blogs, Aug 2016.
And actually in a couple days, we will again be on our way to that favorite place on earth for me. It’s not just the ocean that calls me. It’s my roots — the precious loved ones (family and friends) and memories of my growing up years. So off we go for another adventure…
Read MoreMy husband and I started watching The Chosen for the third time through. This truly riveting dramatic series has grabbed our hearts and minds.
Read MoreI sit with my Father,
Abba Father God,
I hold onto You today as I do everyday.
I am secure because You are holding onto me. Thank you..
I like just sitting here with You. I don’t have to know all the “stuff,” do I?
I don’t have to get it all straight so I fit into “the camp,” whatever that may be, right?
I’m not sure I even belong to one.
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 you; puts up with you?
Does negative self-talk dog your steps? Are these your thoughts and maybe even words out of your mouth:
Read MoreI’m a coffee drinker. Many of us East Coast natives grew up watching our parents sip the brew every evening after supper. There was no Starbucks back then, but in NJ we did have Dunkin Donuts L-O-N-G before it ever crept into the Midwest….
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… 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 More… for He Himself has said,
“I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”
…In this post, I’m focusing on another of my favorite words. Himself!
He Himself … Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God and Son of Man.
Here at A Branch in the Vine, we are proclaiming our Declaration of Dependence! We are celebrating that every day is Dependence Day for those of us who "live from the life of Another."
Read MoreChristianity is a PERSON, not a procedure; the LORD, not a list! Not church attendance, not Christ-like qualities, not good works, not the Christian "to-do list" (which may vary depending on the group and "camp" you are in)...
Not evangelism, not mission trips, not a quality "quiet time," not Scripture memorization or Bible study...
Not spiritual disciplines, not prayer, not fasting, not obedience, not miracle-working faith...
Read MoreBut I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
Good morning, brothers and sisters in Christ.
May you rejoice in this gift of another day to experience the sufficiency of Christ who lives in you today … right now.
And let’s face it … there will be battles today in this fallen world. Christ has won the war. But while we are here on earth, we will face opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil (who uses the world and the flesh to lie to us and lure our dependence away from our loving Father God).
So here are a few thoughts and scriptures that may help as we face our today:
Read MoreI have favorite words…do you?
Maybe because my “love language” is words of affirmation, I treasure words … especially words I hear from God. Sometimes His words are those that “jump off the page of Scripture.” Sometimes they are words that enter my consciousness, gently or suddenly or in response to a question I barely had time to ask.
If we are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, siblings in the family of God, we are called to mature into “spiritual fatherhood/motherhood” in the family.
Is that a surprising thought? Let's think together about this idea of "spiritual parenting."
In his first letter, the fatherly, aged apostle John penned a tenderhearted passage on the growth stages in a believer's life.
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.
