Author: Theresa

It’s important that we pray throughout the day. We can pray as we drive to work, throughout our workday, at home with our children, at lunch, at dinner… But it’s imporant that we also set aside some quiet time just for God. For it is in this time that we can truly be in God’s prescene, for our attention is not divided!

“for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” – Acts 1:5

We are commanded to be baptized! One definition of Baptism says, “(in the Christian Church) the religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person’s forehead or of immersion in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on young children and is accompanied by name-giving.”

Another says, “Baptism is a symbolic act. It mirrors Jesus’s death and burial when the believer is submerged in water, and then rising out of the water symbolizes Jesus’s resurrection and the believer’s new life in Christ.”

But neither of them are really right. During Baptism we are filled with the Holy Spirit and this is what matters!

But sadly, for many years, Christian churches of various denominations have fought over whether a person should be baptized as a baby or a young adult or adult. But there is no -wrong – way. When we are baptized, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Period.

I was baptized in a Catholic church and so I was baptized as a baby. I was also very sick, so no one really knew if I was going to live.

Some people do not get baptized until they are older and are baptized by immersion.

Neither of these methods are wrong.

But I will say this, to be filled with the Holy Spirit is a moment worth remembering and we can’t do that if we are a baby.

Personally, I would like to be immersed and hold the moment of the Holy
Spirit filling me in my heart forever. John the Baptist baptized Jesus by immersion and I think following Jesus’s example would be an incredible moment to remember and I can’t do that because I was a baby when I was baptized.

Do I think that if someone was baptized as a baby, that we all need to do it again. That somehow it “doesn’t count”. Absolutely Not! But I do think it would be wonderful to be baptized in Christ’s tradition. 🙂

No. Not wanting to die is a normal feeling, but we don’t need to fear death. Jesus has already won that battle and because He did, we don’t have to. It’s already won.

Death is like walking through a door. At the moment we die to this world, we awaken to Heaven. For it is in the blink of an eye that we come home to Heaven. There is nothing to fear and because our Father loves us so much, He doesn’t want us to ever fear death. Because all death is – is our homecoming.

When my father-in-law’s doctor told us that his cancer had spread and this was it, we were devastated. He was our hero and we loved him and as long as he was with us, we felt all would always be well. We sat in a state of shock for he was about to leave-for Heaven.

He was moved to a hospice. And we sat with him there, singing his favorite songs and telling all of the old stories. And reading his favorite Bible verses such as John 3:16. For two days he was unconcious. Late at night, my husband and I left, but I remembered I had left my purse there and so we went back to his room. My husband and I decided to sit for a few more minutes. We knew, even though he had been unconscious for two days, every moment was precous.

All of a sudden, Papa awakened for a moment and sat up in his bed. He raised his arms and hands in prayer and looked up. He clearly saw our Lord & Heaven. And then he laid back down, unconscious again. He never awakened again. A few days later he died to this world and awakened in Heaven. I always felt that God took Papa to Heaven at that very moment! He may have died to this world, but he is alive and so very happy in Heaven.

God gives us these moments to remind us that we never need fear death and God gives us these moments because He loves us and does not want us to fear! When someone we love dies to this world, we miss them. But those Saved by Jesus need not fear, for they will be alive and happy in Heaven. And those who love a person who dies to this world, while they will mourn and miss their loved one, they WILL see them again in Heaven 🙂

We need not ever fear death; because of Jesus ‘s great love for us; it’s just a doorway to Heaven 🙂

Our Father is with us; we need not fear, ever.

Sometimes it’s hard for people to draw close to the Holy Spirit. To know His love. And sometimes it’s hard for people to truy understand the Holy Spirit.

So here is a simpler way…The Holy Spirit is simply God’s Spirit. And in fact in this particular song, Jonathan simply asks the Holy Spirit to come and show him our Father’s Love. Because, in many ways, that is what the Holy Spirit is. A window into God Our Father’s Great Love For Us 🙂

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Friend He is God’s Spirit, …and He loves us with a depth of love that is beyond our understanding. But although we may not completely understand the true depth of His love, we can accept it and share it 🙂

And in the song Jonathan sings, he does something we don’t really do enough, he simply asks to know God’s better through the Holy Spirit. It’s an amazing prayer. Take a moment to listen to it and pray it with your eyes closed and know God’s Love 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be Saved” – Romans 10:13

Jesus loves us in a way that we have not experienced in this life on earth. When we fail, He comes running after us. When we call on His name, we are Saved. He judges us not by earthly measures, but by what is in our heart. He judges our effort, not our success or failure. We’ve never known a love like this!

He forgives us our sins when we repent because He loves us. He sacrificed all so that we might live and He built a Bridge to His Father, so we would have a way to reach Him, even now :).

No matter how many times we reject Jesus, He is always willing to forgive us. Because He loves us. And no matter how many times we fail, no matter how many times we sin, Jesus is ready to lift us up, forgive us and make us new once again.

Nothing we can do or say will ever diminish Jesus’s great Love for us! Which makes His love very different from the love of anyone on this earth. Because Jesus loves us – no matter what!

It can be difficult sometimes to understand Jesus’s great love for us, because we have never know a love like His, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start. Because giving unconditional love to others can be our gift of Christ. Our way of saying Thank You for Jesus’s great Love for us 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“Holy Spirit Come, I want to know my Father’s Love”

Jonathan Helser

To know the Father’s Love, to really know the Father’s love is a bit like flying! To be so completely loved is an amazing Gift! It’s something that is truly hard to recognize and to truly accept here on this earth. But God our Father does love us that much and more :).

Run to the Rainbow, God’s Rainbow, and jump in it.

Love our Father & Accept His Love In Return 🙂

 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” – Psalm 119:105

Reading the Bible can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Nor does it have to be difficult to interpret. Understanding the Bible really is as simple as asking God’s Holy Spirit to read it with us. For when God’s Holy Spirit reads the Bible with us, it reads as easily as a beloved story.

Some say that doesn’t always work for them. Often that is simply because some readers of the Bible don’t give themselves completely to the Holy Spirit when they are reading the Bible, seeking instead to place their own interpretation on the verses of the Bible, instead of God’s.

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:5

One way we grow closer to the Holy Spirit is to simply ask Him to help us grow closer to Him.

Another way to grow closer to the Holy Spirit is to Pray. Here’s a simple prayer that may help if prayed daily 🙂

“O Holy Spirit, Beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. I promise to submit to everything that You ask of me and to accept all that You allow to happen to me. Just show me what is Your will, O Holy Spirit.” – Cardinal Mercier

Another way to grow closer to the Holy Spirit is to ask Him which Gifts He has given to us, and then start using them. There is great joy in this 🙂

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Friend. He loves us just as Jesus does and truly wants to help and comfort us, forever and always!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

One way we grow closer to Jesus is to realize afresh just how much Jesus loves us. And Jesus loves us all, those we like and those we don’t. Jesus gave His life for all of us. And there is no greater Gift than that!

And even after so many rejected Him, Jesus came running after us anyway. For despite our unfaithfulness, Jesus is alway faithful! He loves us that much!

So that is exactly where we begin; we remember afresh just how much Jesus loves us, and we make time each day too truly dwell on His great love for us!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ” – Matthew 29-31

Remember the parable of the Sparrow? How God takes care of us-always, even in matters of Faith. Some have asked how they grow closer to God? What steps do they take?

The first step is to ask our Father to strengthen our Faith, for Faith is a Gift. And we can start spending more time with Him. Prayer is just another way of describing talking with God. It isn’t something to be reserved for a certain time, but something we need to do all day.

The second step is to ask Jesus to grant us more Faith. For it is one thing to ask Jesus to be our Savior and yet another to truly believe every word that He said and obey it.

The third step is to ask the Holy Spirit to read the Bible with us. To help us see exactly what is meant in each and every word. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what Gifts He has given to us and then share them with others 🙂 And we need to ask the Holy Spirit to see the world and the people in it, as they are, not how we wish they were.

And the fourth step is that we can pray the Rosary. Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother, will help us to enrich our Faith and grow closer to Jesus. Because she loves us 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!