I 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.
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The 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.
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A 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?
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Brothers & 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!
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I’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.
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The 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
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I 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.
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Magi, Wise men, Three Kings...those figures way at the end of the Nativity scene (I suppose because they were still traveling from afar)... In recent years, this trio (if it was a trio) have become my heroes. Think about it! People probably thought they were crazy following a star to God knows where. THEY probably thought they were crazy after a time. What courage! What perseverance! What joy in the finding!
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.
