Vernon T. Jones MTS, Spiritual Consultant, Author
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Scripture Reflection: God’s Peace from Prayer

9/27/2018

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“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7

When we pray with thanksgiving and let God know what is going on in our lives, we can have this peace that passes all understanding. During a time of my life when I was really struggling, the Lord’s peace came to me when my prayers gave me direction and insight.

My late wife, Judy, had two operations to remove brain tumors. The first one went fairly smoothly, and she had little of any side efforts from it. However, the second surgery was another matter for it was a much longer one with more challenges. Afterwards she couldn’t talk, walk, or move her right side. Needlessness to say it was a very trying time for my family, Judy, and me. She spent twelve weeks in two hospitals and a nursing home recovering from the operation, having radiation, and relearning many skills.

During her time at the nursing home she seemed to be getting a little better, however, every evening I hated to leave her there. It was very difficult for me because I felt so sorry that I couldn’t do any more for her. I always prayed for her doing the day and for guidance about this situation and was very thankful for any process that she made. I was led to get a devotional book, “Christ in Our Home” and started reading the book before leaving her at night. I read the scripture listed for the day, then the reflection part of the book, and the prayer at the end of the devotional.

That small act gave me some peace of mind and spirit so that I felt somewhat better leaving her at night. The peace I received didn’t change the situation that we were in, but it did allow me the ability to cope a little better with what was going on. After she came home, we continued to follow the same practice before going to bed. After Judy passed away, I continued that routine alone. During your prayer time share with God what is going on with you, the good and the bad, and may that allow you to experience the peace of God which passes all understanding! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2018 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
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Moving In Day:

9/22/2018

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This morning, the movers delivered all of our stuff to our new place.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and have given us so much encouragement.

We will of course be unpacking all of our stuff for a really long period, and in time we will get settled in.

As noted before we look forward to this new adventure that God has for us to do ministry here, getting us to this new area, meeting new friends, and spending time with our Colorado family.

Peace, Shirley and Vernon T. 
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Moving Out Day!

9/17/2018

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It is a bitter-sweet day for Shirley and me. The moving van arrived and after weeks of sorting and packing, we are headed off to Colorado. Question, how we did end up with so much "Stuff" to move? :)

It is bitter, because we have really enjoyed our time doing ministry here in Alpena and before that in Louisville. We have gotten to know a lot of very loving, caring people, and always knew that we were loved and supported. 

The sweet part is that we are off to a new adventure, trusting that our ministry will continue out West; however, at this point we aren't exactly sure what that will look like. We will be close to children and grandchildren which certainly adds to the sweet part, but that is also bitter as we're leaving children, grandchildren, and many dear friends in the Midwest.

Continue to keep us in your prayers, as we travel cross-country to begin the next stage of our lives and ministry.

Peace, Shirley and Vernon T. 
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Scripture Reflection: Faithful and Being Kept Sound

9/13/2018

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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 have lived 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 underneath 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! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2018 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved

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Scripture Reflection: The Spirit Speaking Through Us

9/6/2018

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​“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of you Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10: 19-20

This passage is recorded after Jesus talks about his twelve disciples going out to the Gentiles to proclaim that the kingdom of God had come near. He gives them instructions for the journey and warns them that they may be handed over to the authorities, in which case they should not worry about what to say, but the Holy Spirit would give them what to speak.

On our spiritual pilgrimage, the Holy Spirit can guide and comfort us when we are open to receiving the help. It can also speak through us, when we are called to witness to our faith, and when we are called to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near.

A few years ago I was fortunate to lead two Lutheran (ELCA) Synod workshops on the topic of discipleship, one in Michigan and one in Indiana within a few weeks of each other. For both workshops I had a handout with a presentation that I could have given. However, the sessions were right after lunch and people had listened to speakers all morning, and I thought that it would a challenge to keep their attention. After a brief overview, I asked them to quickly read over my handout and come up with topics that they wanted to hear versus what I thought they wanted to hear.

In that way they were more invested in the discussion, and we let the Holy Spirit guide what would be covered. It could have been a risk on my part to do it this way, because you never know where the discussion would go. Both breakouts seemed to go well and those who attended appeared to get something out of them. When I had done presentations in the past, I generally followed my outline to keep everything on track. I still had to keep things under control and moving in this case, but I trusted that what would be covered was what the people needed to hear.

May you be open to the Holy Spirit giving you guidance on your daily walk and when you are speaking about your faith or proclaiming the gospel message. It takes courage to trust and to give up some control of the situation, but that is what Jesus asked his disciples to do, hopefully you can do the same when the time is right to do so! Peace, Vernon T.

Copyright © 2018 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
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    Author

    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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