Vernon T. Jones MTS, Spiritual Consultant, Author
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Scripture Reflection: Faithful and Being Kept Sound!

7/31/2014

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“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do this.” I Thessalonians 5: 23-24

This letter from Paul gives us a view of his initial missionary activity and it gives encouragement about how believers should live at that time. He wanted them to know that their entire being would be kept sound because Jesus was faithful about his promises to return. We all may have times in our lives when we don’t have the faith to trust in the promises of God, or in our present situations, or in the people that are around us.

Having the faith to trust is something that I, personally, have had challenges with at various times in my life. Once, one of the insurance companies I worked for took all of their management staff to an outward-bound experience with a company called Pecos River Learning Centers. Pecos River worked with organizations to help train their employees to faithfully function together while doing various tasks.

I was worried about it before I went, and even tried to talk my boss out of making me go, which didn’t work. Those few days took me way out of my comfort zone. One of the activities was to climb up this tall pole, which was at least twenty feet up, and to jump off the pole to hit a bell some distance away, with nothing under neath you. You had to do this by trusting that your team mates would hold you up securely with ropes.

I am deathly afraid of heights and told my team mates this the day before we were scheduled to do it. I let them know that I didn’t want to do it. However, because we had some other team building events prior to that I came to trust in my team mates. I was able to climb the pole and jumped off it in faith. Someone took a picture of me jumping off, and I still have the picture on my desk. It was a wonderful experience for me, and one I will always remember and one I am very grateful for. 

On your spiritual pilgrimage please be faithful and believe that God will also keep you safe and sound, when you are asked to take a risk!

Prayer, Lord of life, help me to trust and to have faith that no matter what you ask me to do or to go for your kingdom sake, that you will be with me, and will hold me up in your loving arms! Amen. Vernon T.   

Copyright © 2014 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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Scripture Reflection: Seed (The Word) Sown on Good Soil!

7/24/2014

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“But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Matthew 13: 23

In this passage from Matthew we have Jesus giving another parable to the crowds, this time about a sower of seed/the word. Again, his disciples had a difficult time understanding what this parable meant and Jesus had to explain it to them, which he does in Matthew 13: 18-23. 

According to the parable the seed that doesn’t bear fruit is compared to the person who hears the word about the kingdom of God but doesn’t get it. It isn’t understood because the evil one comes and takes away what is sown (the word), or because the root isn’t deep enough, or because the cares of the world choke it, in all these cases the seed/word yields nothing.

However, what is sown on good soil bears fruit. In the same manner when the word about the kingdom is heard and grasped it becomes embedded in a person’s heart and soul. We have the potential to be this good soil especially when we are actually engaged in our spiritual practices of prayer, Bible study, and reflection. When this is done, we are on the road to becoming a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ and we can also bear fruit and share this message about God’s kingdom in this time and place.

Blessings on your spiritual pilgrimage as you allow this word to take a deep root in your inner being, which prevents it from being taken away, and where the cares of the world are put in their proper place in your life!

Prayer, Lord of all creation, please guide me to be good soil so that your word takes a strong root in me, and enables me to share the message of your kingdom with those whom I meet today! Amen. Vernon T.   

Copyright © 2014 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
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Scripture Reflection: Bearing Fruit!

7/17/2014

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“I [Jesus] am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” John 15: 1-3 

I don’t claim to know much about farming or growing gardens, however, I have known many people who were really good at it. One such person was my late wife’s father, Vito, who knew a lot about growing things. He had a huge lot on his property in Ashtabula, Ohio where he generally put in a very large garden, until his health slowed him down.

He loved seeing things grow and of course grew more then he could use, thus always gave much of it away. When we were able to visit him during the summer, we always came away with wonderful fruits and vegetables from his garden. Every morning, before the sun got too hot, he would get out into his garden to weed, clear out, prune, and water his garden. He knew in order to have a good harvest much work was needed, which he was willing to do.

What Vito and countless other gardeners and farmers have done, is what Jesus is saying about branches (in him) that require pruning. As followers of Jesus we are like branches in need of pruning in order to bear more fruit. Jesus said that his disciples have already been cleansed (pruned) by his words. This removing of the unfruitful branches and the pruning or cleansing may at times be painful or cause us some discomfort, however,  it is a necessary step for us to bear the fruit of God’s kingdom. We may not fully understand about this process when it is going on, but generally later on during our pilgrimage we can see why the removal or pruning was needed.

As you take part in the spiritual practices of prayer, Bible study, and reflection, may you be open to allowing God’s word and the Holy Spirit to remove, prune, and cleanse those parts of your inner being that will allow you to become the person that God wants you to be!  

Prayer, Lord of all creation, please help me to be a willing branch that is ready to be pruned so that God’s fruit can grow in me, and may that growth be shared with those whom I meet today! Amen. Vernon T.

Copyright © 2014 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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Scripture Reflection: Guided by The Spirit!

7/10/2014

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“By contract, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. . . . If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5: 22-23, 25

If we acknowledge the fact that we have the Holy Spirit in our lives and is a very important aspect of our spiritual pilgrimage, then according to this verse we ought also to be guided by this same Holy Spirit. This seems to be stating the obvious! However, if the Spirit is truly leading us, are the fruits of the Spirit present in our spiritual core? 
Can we say that we attempt to love all those around us, do we have the joy and peace that come from knowing that God’s infinite love is always with us, and do we have faithfulness in our spiritual pilgrimage? Taking part in this journey and being directed by the Holy Spirit will change us, and cause us to grow spiritually and emotionally.

I know that I am more understanding of those whom years ago I might have been inclined to look at from a very judgmental standpoint, and I know that I am more willing to let go of things that have happened to me and around me than I used to, these are but some of the ways that I have been changed. Some of these may have come about because of my life experiences,  however, I believe that the Holy Spirit has also impacted and helped mold me.

May you be open to being guided by the Holy Spirit and in the process be changed by that same Spirit!

Prayer, Holy Spirit help me to live by your presence in my life and also be guided by that same Spirit, and allow me to share this indwelling and direction with those around me! Amen. Vernon T.    

Copyright © 2014 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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Scripture Reflection: Faith to Trust in The Promise of God!

7/7/2014

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“No distrust made him [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’” Romans 4: 20-22 

The story of Abraham and the faith he showed in God’s promises is recorded in several places in the Bible. He believed that God would do what God had promised, even when things around him seemed to suggest something different. On our spiritual pilgrimage we often are called upon to have faith to trust in something that others can’t see or understand. You may know others that have been in this situation, or you may have been in a similar position.

One of the times in my life when this occurred was when I was thinking of going to the Trinity Lutheran Seminary. I had spent more than twenty-seven years in the insurance industry and wasn’t in a position to take early retirement, but was given some really clear direction to go. The odd thing for me was that I knew that I should think about going, but I wasn’t sure why I was going before I went. I very strongly believe that in order to become an ordained pastor, a person had to receive a call from God in some form or fashion, and I had not received that call. However, it became clearer as I went along that I should go anyway.

After I started, people would ask me why I was here, I would say that God told me to come, but I didn’t know why. After I was there for a few months, people began telling me that I would make a great pastor, but again I didn’t feel called to be one. Going to Trinity took faith in God’s promises, for I truly not knew why. Later on I found out why when I met and married Shirley Ross, and became involved in my current ministry, however that was after I went.

On your spiritual pilgrimage, may you like Abraham have the faith to trust in the promises of God, so that when you are called to act, you can do so knowing that God will be with you!

Prayer, Lord God, help me to have the faith required to trust in your promises, and may that faith and trust allow me to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, today and every day! Amen. Vernon T. 

Copyright © 2014 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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