St Patrick & Blessings

Hello Church Family

   Here it is St. Patrick’s Day, and we are mostly home, rather than out celebrating with something Irish or green. St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal and I’m glad so many remember it, but probably not for the reasons they should. It’s about St. Patrick, one of the greatest missionaries the world has ever known. But we don’t hear about that much today. So let me share some ideas.

   As I said on Sunday for our Children’s Brown Bag time, Patrick was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave to landowners in Ireland. He rediscovered his dormant faith while out minding the sheep. So he began to pray, he worked at remembering the things he had been taught by his parents back in England, who had been active in their faith. He was a typical teenager and wasn’t too interested in that at the time. But for most of us, being around the faith, can seep in and help us in times of trouble and this is one of those times. With time on his hands, he began to pray, and according to his confessions and records, he found he prayed a lot, both day and night. He discovered how close God was to him in those times.

   Patrick was able to discover the beauty and creativity of God in all of nature around him. He saw God at work in all of this and began to be joyful for seeing God be such a provider. When he returned to Ireland to share the good news of Jesus, he already knew the area, the language and the outlook of the Irish. He was able to translate Jesus and God the creator into their whole world. We really need the awareness of the presence of God now. God is everywhere, and we should learn to see how awesome the whole creation and the gifts God gives to us more dramatically.

   So for our thought for the day, look around you and count your blessings. Go back over your life, try reviewing your life and see what God did in the different decades of your life and give thanks to God for that. I’ll talk more about the influence of St. Patrick on our world tomorrow. But for right now, give thanks.

   Take a few moments and tell God you are grateful for all of this. Creation itself demonstrates the creative power. Look up Psalm 8 and read it through several times and you will see what I mean.

   May the peace of God bless you. Christ

“Sleep, O sleep in the calm of all calm, Sleep, O Sleep in the guidance of guidance, Sleep O sleep in the love of all loves; Sleep O beloved, in the Lord of life, Sleep O Beloved, in the God of life!”  Irish Prayer.

Pastor Jeff