The ocean speaks to me about God … the bigness of God and the littleness of me.
This could be a frightening thought were it not for the fact of God’s amazing, unconditional love for me. I picture myself in those beautiful ocean waves of God’s love, enveloping me and overcoming all the “stuff” I face.
Key Verse:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 ESV
Key Question:
Who is my point of reference, God or myself?
Read MoreKey Verse:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 ESV
Key Question:
How is God's love manifested through us?
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,…
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:33 ESV
Key Question:
How do we know the "will of God?"
Read MoreTo him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:3-5,27 ESV
Key Question:
How do we hear God?
Read MoreNo more trying … only trusting.
No more running … only resting.
No more running … only praying.
To experience the strength, peace, joy, fullness of the Lord.
I’m NOT going back.
This …
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:2-5 ESV
Key Question:
How do temptation and faith interact?
Read MoreBut we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 ESV
Key Question:
How does the "holy but" cause us to see our circumstances, good and bad?
Read MoreMy UNION with Christ...I live, yet not I...Christ with and in and through me. This song brings me to my knees in humble gratitude for this awesome truth: I am not separate! I am not alone, trying to do my best with God's help if I believe hard enough and ask Him correctly.
He and I are ONE! You are ONE with Him too, O believing child of God! Hallelujah!
Read MoreAnd I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV
Key Question:
Is Jesus living His life through you, or are you trying to live it with His help?
Read MoreFor by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2: 8-10 ESV
Key Question:
Do you live under works (the law) or by grace through faith?
Read MoreYears ago when I was still raising my children, I struggled with my health. There was little known at that time about the mysterious symptoms I suffered. Because of that, it was hard to find anyone to believe me. I felt alone, judged by God and man, and despairing.
Read More...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death... Philippians 3: 10 ESV
Key Question:
How has misery been a gift from God in your life?
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23 ESV
Key Question:
What does it mean to "see with a single eye?"
Read MoreMy precious Jesus is the Lord of the Dance. Many years ago He took my hand, when I was just a small child and invited me into His dance.
And so moment by moment, day by day, we dance together through my life. At times I may stumble, but He has me in His strong but kind and gentle grip. And so we keep on dancing together.
Read MoreI am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one…. 1 John 2:12-14
...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe... Ephesians 1:17-19a ESV
Read More…Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” …God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. … the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. Exodus 3:2-5 NLT
There is a “burning bush” in my daughter’s yard in Illinois. And it is ablaze with glory right now! So when three year old William and I came outside yesterday morning, we couldn’t help but notice the changes that seemed to happen overnight.
“It’s RED!”
“Yes, William, and it’s called a Burning Bush. You know what? God spoke to a man named Moses from a Burning Bush. It’s in the Bible.”
Read MoreFor all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. …As we come up to Fathers’ Day, I’m remembering this song. Its a heart-warming reminder of my True Father, and it grabs my grieving soul with its moving music and lyric.
I can’t get this song out of my mind. It’s a heart-warming reminder of my True Father, and it grabs my grieving soul with its moving music and lyric.
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.
