Vernon T. Jones MTS, Spiritual Consultant, Author
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​Growth in Our Prayer Life

6/27/2024

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"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways." I Corinthians 13:11

This passage is taken from the chapter in I Corinthians that is often quoted about the importance of love and of its every lasting quality. There are many wonderful messages in this chapter and one of them is embedded in verse 11. That when we are young in age or maturity we generally act and think in one way and after we grow in age or maturity we act and think in another. The same can be said about our prayer life and the steps that we take along on our spiritual pilgrimage.

Many spiritual writers have said that having a life of prayer will change us, and cause to see things in a different way as we continue with our spiritual practices. I know, that is the case for me. My prayer life has often changed over the years as I have added and dropped certain aspects of my spiritual practices.

One of the biggest changes is how I feel free to pray for my family, something that I concerned about, and for others during the day; this is beside the specific prayer times that I am involved with. I often pray during times such as when I am going for a walk, when jogging, riding in a car, or waiting for an appointment. Somewhere along the line I was guided to carry a small piece of paper in my pocket with the names of my family members and close friends and a few issues that are a concern to me. While waiting in line or for an appointment, I pull out the paper and pray for those that are on it.

How we did things while young in our faith, will not be the same as how we do things when we move along on our walk. As this passage states, when we were a child we thought like a child, but when we became an adult, the childish ways were put aside. Please be encouraged to find creative ways to have prayer be an ever-changing aspect of your spiritual pilgrimage. Know that as you mature in your journey that how you pray and live will change, evolve, and grow! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2024 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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Praising God

6/20/2024

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"Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Matthew 6: 9

Jesus was talking to his closest disciples when he taught them about prayer in this passage that has come to be called the Sermon on the Mount. He also relates the proper attitude and place for praying. This prayer has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer and is considered a perfect prayer because it covers areas that need to be prayed for. Please think of including the Lord’s Prayer in your spiritual practices, and even if you cannot do anything else, use this prayer on a daily basis.

In this verse Jesus wants us to praise God. There are countless books that have been written over the centuries about the need to praise the Lord; the book of Psalms is full of verses doing just that. Praising God does not have to be just for the major things in life, but the small things as well.

My late wife, Judy, had two operations to remove a brain tumor. The first surgery basically went fine, however, after the second she could not walk, talk, or move her right side. It took a long time before she relearned these basic skills. During that time, I obtained a new appreciation for how wonderful this human body is that God created and how amazing the human brain is, and how it can function the way it does and cause our body parts to operate as they can, almost without us thinking about it.

I began to give thanks for being able to wake up in the morning and put my feet on the ground and walk. Being able to feed myself, being able to walk up and down the stairs, and to get in and out of a car, etc., were things that I began to praise God for. I have been very fortunate to be as heathy as I am, however, going through the experience with Judy gave me reason to praise the Lord for the large and small gifts of life that come my way on a daily basis.

Today, praise God for some gift of life that comes your way, and this can be done at any time or place, or for any reason! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2024 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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​Shirley Baptized our Colorado Granddaughter

6/13/2024

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Last Sunday Shirley was blessed to be able to baptize our 14-year-old granddaughter, Bella and take part in her confirmation at worship. She was not baptized as an infant and had not attended any faith community prior to our moving to Colorado. However, over the past few years she has become very involved at Lutheran Church of Hope, where Shirley and I joined about five years ago.
 
Bella has taken part in VBS as a day-camper and the past few years as a counselor. She has learned how to run a camera for our Sunday live streaming service, and takes part in worship as a crucifer. She is going to the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans in July, and of course has gone through the Confirmation program at our church. She took part in a Mystery Trip that our youth took last year to several states, where she was the only female student to go along with seven other male students. She loves being a part of the community and the people there love and support her as well.
 
This was a big day for Bella, and Shirley feels very fortunate to have been able to take part in this. In the pictures the lady in the stripped top, is Beth Rogers our Youth Director, and the other robed person is our Lead Pastor, Pastor Scott McAnally. Peace, Vernon T. 
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​Words of Repentance

6/6/2024

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“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, ‘Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips.’” Hosea 14: 1-2

The prophet Hosea is encouraging the nation of Israel to return to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness for the things that they have done. The implied message is that God does not want their sacrifice but for them to express their need of repentance in words and actions. In my life I have found that unless I could share my feelings with someone, and then show them how I felt, nothing else seemed to matter in trying to renew or build up a relationship with them.

During the first few years of my marriage to my late wife, Judy, one of the really hard things that I had to learn was that of sharing my feelings and thoughts, verses keeping them inside of me. Judy had a very outgoing personality and found it very easy to express what she was thinking and how she felt about most anything. I, on the other hand, was more reserved and had not learned how to share my emotions with others. This was an area where we struggled with quite a bit in those early years.

Thankfully she was patient with me, loved me, and was willing to walk with me through that period, as I slowly became comfortable in sharing with her and over time with others. It took a lot of prayers, love, and persistent effort but things did improve. Today, I am still somewhat reserved, however, I am better than I used to be, but it is something that I will have to constantly work with.

No matter what your personality is, according to Hosea, God wants to hear the words from our lips about how we see ourselves, about our shortcomings, and where we need to ask for forgiveness. Part of our spiritual pilgrimage is to daily ask for God’s repentance. Today return to God and strive to share all areas of your life, your prayer requests, and your shortcomings! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2024 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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    Vernon T. Jones earned his Master of Theological Studies Degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary after a lengthy insurance industry career. Jones has assisted people with incorporating into their faith journey the discipleship practices that are outlined in his upcoming book and his presentations. 

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