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The Saints. Catholics believe that some Followers of Christ are “special”. One Catholic definition says: “Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.” For the most part, Saints are cannonized by the Catholic church. In other words, the Pope makes the final decision.

One Protestant definition of a Saint is: ” A saint is a “holy one,” someone who is set apart for God’s special purposes. As a result, every follower of Jesus Christ is a saint.”

I am not going to try to settle the question that lies between the Catholics and the Protestants of “who is a Saint”. Clearly, that is a larger debate for another day. Suffice to say, it is Jesus who decides everything 🙂

But irregardless of whose definition we believe, I think we can all agree that Saints are special people and we can only benefit from trying to live lives like theirs and by following their great examples.

Because they did share one very important quality, they always put Jesus first!

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“Christianity is more than a relationship with Jesus. It is more than discipleship. It is a way of seeing and comprehending all reality.”

Chuck Colson

In so many ways, Chuck Colson said it best. Following Jesus is a way of life. It’s a way of thinking. It’s a worldview. It’s everything we will ever need 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

“One of the greatest desires of Almighty God is the conversion of sinners. That poor sinners will leave their sinful lifestyles and turn back to the love of God is high on the list of God’s desires.”-Father Broom

When we think back to the appearances of our Blessed Mother Mary, for example, whether it be at Fatima or Lourdes, Mary always asked that those She appeared to, pray and sacrifice for the “conversion of sinners”. She didn’t want anyone to choose to go to Hell and neither did God! For Mary loved ALL of God’s people. And we all know just how much Jesus loved us :).

But God is also Just and always Fair.

Oswald Smith was an Evangelical preacher and missionary in the early 1900s. He was born in Toronto. He preach “12,000 sermons in over 80 countries”. He truly cared about God’s people and so should we. He once said:

“Oh, to realize that souls, precious never dying souls are perishing all around us, going out into the blackness of darkness and despair, eternally lost, and yet feel no anguish, shed no tears, know no trevail! How little we know of the compassion of Jesus!”

How broken-hearted should we all be that are some souls that leave this life choosing to go to Hell, rather than to Heaven! That’s what Oswald was trying to share with us. And that is exactly what we should take a moment to pray about.

But sadly, life gets busy and we forget how many are in this desperate place. How many are truly lost. But sometimes, there seems to be nothing we can do to help them. However, there is always something we can do to help, we can pray!

Please, make time and pray for the “conversion of sinners”. Pray for the lost!

Missionaries bring food, medicine, vacation Bible schools and all kinds of aid. They know that if we are to convince people who are lost, of Christ’s Great Love for them, then we must first be Christ’s Hands and Feet and show them what real love looks like. For many, they simply have not been loved, truly loved, before. We need to Love them, as Jesus has loved us!

Another thing we can do as Brothers and Sisters in Christ is listen. Truly listen. Listening is almost a lost art and makes the person who is talking feel truly cared about. Often, the person talking actually finds their own solution as they talk.

We can hug them. Human touch is truly a Gift from God. It lets the other person truly know that we care. It warms the recipent and gives them hope and strength. The kind of hope and strength we all need. Hugs let them know that they are not alone. Not ever. Hugs reduces stress and anxiety, and help people relax. Hugs help everyone feel calmer and more secure. Hugs are a way we can give love, Christ’s love.

Sometimes, a person is simply too physically far from us for us to reach out too. But we can pray that God, who can reach them, will give ALL of these things too them.

And lastly, we can pray that they will one day ask Jesus to be their Savior. And we can pray that they do so while they are still alive, while there is still time for them to choose Jesus and choose Heaven. Remember,

“ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”-John 11:25

When we think of the lost, we may think of someone we love here at home, or we may think of people who are in another country. It really doesn’t matter. Lost is lost. Please pray for them 🙂

There are so many Bible verses dedicated to praying for the lost: https://www.openbible.info/topics/praying_for_the_lost

This was just such a great prayer, that I had just to share it!

Today, President Trump will be sworn into office and become, once again, the President of the United States of America. And while we hope and pray that he will be a good President, it’s important to remember that President Trump is our President, not our Savior.

Jesus is our Savior; Jesus always will be :).

Follow Jesus!

Ten Lepers Cleansed

“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan

“So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”-Luke 17:11-19

I always thought how hurtful that must have been. How ungrateful that was. Jesus healed all ten because He loved each of them! But only one came back to say Thank You! After I read the story of the Ten Lepers and how many did not say thank you, I realized I always wanted to be the person that came back to say thank you. So when my prayers are answered, I always do.

I can’t explain what a wonderful difference that has made in my faith. I just wanted to give God my thanks so that He would know how grateful I was. But those “thanks” have always been a gift to me as well. Because they have cemented the knowledge that all of the good things I receive come from God 🙂

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

Ending our prayers with “Thy Will Be Done” makes all the difference. And when we start them, we need to accept that God’s answer may be “Yes”. But it may also be “No” or “Not Yet”.

There is a very real difference between what we want and what we need. In addition, we can only see the short-term, but God sees the long term.

And God sees something else we don’t, God sees all of the people and how they are effected by our prayer. So when God answers, “No” or “Not Yet”, it’s because it’s not the right thing for us, but sometimes it’s just not the right thing for someone else. God weighs how our Prayers will effect everyone!

Praying God’s Will Be Done is the same as saying to God, I Trust you. I know that you love me, just as I know that whatever choices you make for me will be the best ones :).

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!

Welcome every Follower of Christ from Qatar! The Church of Our Lady was built in Qatar in 2008. It was the first Catholic church built since the “seventh century”. It was built from “contributions  from Catholics throughout the Arabian Peninsula.” Here is a link to the: Photo. And a link to more information: Information

Follow Jesus & Keep Praying; Prayer Changes Things!