Years ago I had a mentor-friend named Donna. She was the one the Lord used to usher me into experiencing Christ in me as the One who does the doing in the Christian life! Her key phrase was (as I remember it) "God does it."
Then by the Spirit of God came the realization that my indwelling Lord Jesus Christ is my All in All! He is the Father's Ultimate Gift to me...no-thing else, no-thing more!
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
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The parent-child relationship is perhaps the most critical metaphor of our relationship with God. Why? Because it’s in our relationship with our earthly fathers that we begin to form our concept of God our heavenly Father — for good or for ill.
But all is not lost if our concept of God is askew, filled with false beliefs of what God is really like. There is an Abba Father who fathers us with unconditional love and acceptance, tenderness, and the “loving sternness” that comes with parenting in truth.
Read MoreI’ve been thinking a lot about this question lately. We conservative evangelicals (and I’m sure others) have been really good at judging one another lately and attributing motives to one another (both publicly and privately) that we have no way of knowing. Why? Because we are not God, and we have not walked in our brother or sister’s shoes.
And as much as I have been grieved to see and hear this all around me, I have been grieved to see and “hear” this in myself.
Read MoreIn the midst of this pandemic … and all the controversy it has spawned. Yes, among Christians too. Now more than ever, we need HIM!!!!!!
… my indwelling Lord Jesus Christ is my All in All! He is the Father's Ultimate Gift to me...no-thing else, no-thing more!
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Read MoreYears ago I had a mentor-friend named Donna. She was the one the Lord used to usher me into experiencing Christ in me as the One who does the doing in the Christian life! Her key phrase was (as I remember it) "God does it."
Then by the Spirit of God came the realization that my indwelling Lord Jesus Christ is my All in All! He is the Father's Ultimate Gift to me...no-thing else, no-thing more!
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Read More
A couple years ago, I took my grandsons, Evan (5 y.o.) & Carter (4 y.o.), to visit my mother-in-law ("G-G" to them) who lives in a local senior center.
I told the boys how happy old people are to see little guys. I described to them how these old, sad, depressed faces would change to happy and smiling faces when they saw them.
"Those old folks will 'come alive' because you boys are so special! You just watch!" I said.
Sure enough! Resident after resident began talking, smiling, stopping the boys to interact with them. In fact one man was so overcome that he had to try to hold himself back from trying to hug them and squeeze them.
So after we made it through the "gauntlet" of popularity, we visited with G-G, taking her to the ice cream parlor as usual.
As we were driving back to my house, here's the conversation we had in the car:
Me: "Didn't I tell you? You boys are very special!"
Carter: "That boy (pointing to Evan) isn't special! "
Me, somewhat taken aback but figuring it was the usual sibling stuff: "Oh, but he is special!"
Carter: "But he's mean to me!"
Me: "That doesn't mean he isn't special...that just means he's not acting like the special boy that he really is!"
As I drove on that day, I reflected how this is a perfect illustration of our lives as believers.
We are such special people because God has made us so. We are...
children of our Abba Father God,
brothers & sisters of our Brother, King Jesus,
one with the Triune God through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
But rather than letting the living, indwelling Lord Jesus Christ live though us as us, we, more often than we like to admit, chose to live from the deadness of our flesh.
How sad...actually tragic!
Brothers and sisters, let's live from the fullness of Him who made us special. Amen!
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1a NLT
...this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:27 NLT
I have been crucified with the Anointed One—I am no longer alive—but the Anointed is living in me; and whatever life I have left in this failing body I live by the faithfulness of God’s Son, the One who loves me and gave His body on the cross for me. Galatians 2:20 VOICE
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:9-10 NIV
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.
