When we moved to Colorado, we joined Lutheran Church of Hope. One of the blessings of attending there is that our fourteen-year-old Colorado granddaughter, Bella, has also started to attend and become involved in this community. This past Sunday, Reformation Sunday, Shirley was the guest preacher and Bella was the Crucifer. This will probably never happen again, but it was neat and fun to see it occur on Sunday. Peace, Vernon T.
 “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 could not 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 could not 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, 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 did not 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 and in your life’s challenges may you experience the peace of God that passes all understanding! Peace, Vernon T. Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 b
For World Unity (A prayer from Zaire) O God, you love justice and you establish peace on earth. We bring before you the disunity of today’s world: the absurd violence, and the many wars, which are breaking the courage of the peoples of the world; militarism and the armaments race; which are threatening life on the planet; human greed and injustice, which breed hatred and strife. Sent your Spirit and renew the face of the earth; teach us to be compassionate toward the whole human family; strengthen the will of all those who fight for justice and for peace; lead all nations into the path of peace, and give us that peace which the world cannot give. Amen “Book of Common Worship---Daily Prayer” Westminster/John Knox press  “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12: 21
Like so many of us, my heart is breaking for the Ukrainian people and those folks impacted in the Middle East over what is happening in their countries. In my mind and that of many others; they have done nothing to warrant these attacks. It pains me to see how much suffering these attacks have caused. In my prayers and reflection time, I have begun to refer to these actions as being purely evil acts. I understand that as a fallible human being with as many faults as the next person, I should not judge another human, thus, I am going out on a limb here, by referring to someone’s actions as evil. However, these actions have caused so much needless pain and sorrow, and I ask why and what for. I cannot come up with any logical answer, except to say that these deeds were caused by the evil acts of other humans. Of course, we all must be careful in our rush to judge. For many times over the history of our nation evil has fallen upon people of different colors, races, ethnic backgrounds, economic status, and so forth. This country was built on the backs of many, whose lives were beaten down by evil forces. Thus, we all must realize that evil has been around since time began and will be around until the end of time. But when it appears, it should be acknowledged and confronted. We all struggle with evil within ourselves, our families, communities, states, and nation. May we all acknowledge and confront sin and evil as it occurs around us daily; and pray about it and attempt, as guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to overcome evil with good. Each of us can do our part each day in whatever place and situation God has planted us. May all of us continue to pray for the situation in the Ukraine and the Middle East. But also pray that the good actions of all peoples and nations can help overcome the evil that is causing so much pain there and other places. The fallout from this situation is spreading throughout the world and even to the United States. None of us are immune from the actions caused by this evil; we are all touched by it, in one way or the other. My prayer is that none of us will be overcome with evil, but that we all, whenever possible, will try to overcome evil with good! Peace, Vernon T. Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved  “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 do not 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 spiritual inner being that will allow you to become the person that God wants you to be! Peace, Vernon T. Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved  “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his [God’s] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” Luke 12: 29-32
The beginning of this passage begins with the words, “he (Jesus) said to his disciples.” Thus, it is implied that the message that followed was for those who were his closest followers and not specifically for the crowds who were mainly interested in following Jesus because of the miracles he performed, or the religious leaders who wanted to be there when Jesus did something wrong in their eyes. As he tells his disciples, they were to strive first for the kingdom of God in their daily lives and trust that the Lord would provide for whatever else was needed. This is a very challenging concept in our modern world that places a lot of emphasis on being overly concerned about one’s stock earnings, retirement nest egg, status in society, etc. Striving first for God’s kingdom before anything else is not for the faith of heart. This is a lesson that I have had to learn over and over again in my life, and it continues to be a challenge for me. One of the first major times that I encountered this was when I was working full time in a steel mill and going to college part time. Twice during that time, I was forced to sit out a quarter because my grade point average was too low compared to the number of hours I was taking. I kept thinking that I could do more than I was capable of and could not pull up my grades fast enough, and thus was forced to sit out and think about what was going on. I was able to get off probation for a number of reasons, but the major one was that I consciously tried to strive for God’s kingdom while taking my classes. I had to try to put God’s will and kingdom first in my life, versus anything else. This focus did not happen overnight, but slowly my heart and mind tried to strive for God’s kingdom in my life on a daily basis and it impacted how I prepared for my class work, and how I saw my college experience. During your spiritual pilgrimage, may you recognize the importance of striving first for God’s kingdom on a daily basis, versus anything else that you may encounter on your earthly journey! Peace, Vernon T. Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved |
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