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August 23, 2023

Actress Melissa Joan Hart recently opened up about her faith journey, a “Holy Spirit moment” that helped her to understand the Trinity, and how her recent work with a faith-based organization, World Vision, has changed her perspective on the power of prayer.

The Hollywood veteran has been outspoken about her faith in Christ for several years. Although she is best known for starring in 1990s TV shows likeSabrina the Teenage Witch, Clarissa Explains It All, and Melissa & Joey, her quiet devotion to God has become as she describes “deeper and closer and more fulfilling.”

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Hart, who was raised Catholic, began attending a Presbyterian church after meeting her husband, Mark Wilkerson, who was a Baptist.

But The Masked Singer performer told the Christian Post that she recently had a “born-again” moment that helped her to understand the Trinity.

“I did have a born-again, Holy Spirit moment,” Hart shared. “I never really understood the Holy Spirit or the Trinity in a sense. One day, we were in Bible study and it just hit, like the Holy Spirit made sense to me all of a sudden!”

“One day, I just felt it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the Holy Spirit talking to me. I get it now,’” she recounted. “Like a lightning bolt just hit me and I was like, ‘The Holy Spirit! I don’t know why it just hit me and I got it.’ Then I better understood the Trinity and all that.”

She shared withCBNthat prayer plays an important role in her life and her career, even though at one point she wanted to give up on it.

“I think that all through my life faith has always been there for me. As I talk to myself as I go through my day, I’m always going to God. It’s never just me talking to myself. I’m always talking to God about what the best course of action would be in a particular situation,” Hart said.

“I’m constantly asking the Holy Spirit to calm me down and quiet me. Being upset about something isn’t going to get me there any faster. I’m constantly just finding little moments throughout the day to spend with God,” she said. 

Hart added, “Of course, I fall to my knees when I come to a real crossroads when I have a major conflict in my life or something that is really on my heart. As a family, we make it a habit to go to church every Sunday. We don’t show any shame in our faith. Prayer is just a very important part of our family. Faith is all very much an important part of our lives.”

The mom of three says she has even learned how to handle anxiety through prayer.

“I actually wanted to stop praying for a while because I was having such terrible thoughts that would frighten me so badly,” she confessed. “I was like, ‘I’m not gonna pray anymore because I can’t handle these thoughts. It’s giving me anxiety. It’s keeping me from sleeping. It’s like, literally choking me with how scared it’s making me. When I pray, these other thoughts are coming in. And that’s when I realized that Satan is trying to take over so I have to keep doing it!”

“I fought through it and that doesn’t happen anymore,” Hart recalled. View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Melissa Joan Hart (@melissajoanhart)

Hart has put her faith into action in a variety of ways, even partnering with World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, over the years.

In June, she worked with the organization to help provide clean water to the people of Zambia.

She says that while she was there she had a conversation about prayer that changed her perspective. 

“It’s a Christian country and almost every household we went to they were praying with us. But they couldn’t understand why we pray,” Hart said.  

“They couldn’t understand why we pray when we have so much. They’re like, ‘It’s weird to see a family pray that already has everything, like what would you pray for, or how would you pray?’” she continued. 

“Sometimes I think, in our country, we hear people more likely say, ‘Why would I pray, everything’s a wreck? Everything’s falling apart around me. God doesn’t care. Why would I pray?’” Hart illustrated. “But what they’re doing, they’re like: ‘Well, we need to pray because we need our goats to be healthy. We need rain to come but not too much. We need our crops to do well. We need our children to be healthy. We need our school to be improved.”

Hart says through the ups and downs of her career she has learned to depend on Jesus. 

“One of the great things that I’ve learned is that darkness is just the absence of light and without Jesus, you just have this darkness and then Jesus is the light… so not having Jesus in your life just leaves this void,” she said.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up forFaithwires daily newsletterand download theCBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***el

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.

Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.

The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.

For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.

Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.

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Dodgers’ Snell pitches to hitters, ‘looked good’

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Dodgers' Snell pitches to hitters, 'looked good'

LOS ANGELES — Pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen are progressing toward a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Snell and Treinen each faced hitters Saturday, and Snell pitched two innings. Each could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.

The 32-year-old Snell has pitched in two games for the Dodgers following his five-year, $182 million free agent deal after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and three before that with the San Diego Padres. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

“(Snell) looked good. He looked really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what the velo was but the ball was coming out really well. He used his entire pitch mix. I thought the delivery was clean, sharp, so really positive day.”

The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been injury-prone this season but is starting to get a boost from Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who is working as an opener in his return from elbow surgery.

Treinen is looking to get back to his role in the back end of the bullpen. He threw one inning Saturday.

“Blake Treinen I thought was really good as well,” Roberts said. “Both those guys should be ready at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break.”

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