We remember Patrick today for a reason. Do you know what that is? Patrick brought the Gospel to pagan Ireland, and used the shamrock as a visual representation of God- 1 God in 3 parts, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today we are TRULY celebrating the Gospel and remembering the man that shared that gospel with Ireland. Instead of pinching and drinking beer, we should be praising Jesus and praying for our missionaries, (not to mention sharing the Gospel ourselves)!
Take note that I did not refer to him as "Saint" Patrick. He is not a Saint, in the Catholic sense. If you are a born again Christian, a Saved, Redeemed, Believer in Jesus Christ, then you are a saint. Patrick is a saint, my sister is a saint, I am a saint. Not capital S Saint, but little s saint. "We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven, we are the sons and the daughters of our God." (Children of God by Third Day)
The Tshirt
I have never shared this story with anyone, and I am pretty sure even my family doesn't know this story. It is one of my fondest memories of my sister, Tracie, and one of my proudest moments of her.
Every year on "St" Patrick's Day I wear this tshirt. When I put it on this morning, it brought me back to 2005.
I was a freshman in college. It was around January I believe. Tracie came to me with a delimma and request. You see, she was in a class where she sat between to atheists, (one behind her and one in front of her). They passed sticky notes daily, (that of course she had to pass between them), that bashed God and Christians. They never disposed of them, so after class she brought some home to show me. We devised a plan to help her be more bold in standing up for Jesus and His saints. She asked to borrow a large amount of my Christian tshirts, and she planned to wear them to class everyday for awhile, while also writing stuff on their sticky notes- or maybe we wrote sticky notes of our own...
The reason I thought of this shirt is that I remember when I let her borrow my shirts, I said, "you can borrow them for awhile, but I want this one back and cleaned before March 17th so I can wear it to work." :)
Blessings
On Facebook this morning I noticed a friends status:
"If"
I'm not quite sure if I am reading it correctly, but I will respond with how I interpreted it. :)
Basically I see her questioning God's sovereignty in suffering, in other words, "how can God let bad things happen, and how is that for good?"
My response is simple.
Firstly, I never feel closer to God than when I am going through a trial. Sounds weird? Then think of it this way, on September 11th when thousands were suffering, can you imagine how many people prayed to God that day. Believers prayed. Unbelievers prayed. And I would think it is safe to say that atheists prayed that day. Even the staunchest unbeliever turns to God in trials. (not ALL I know, I'm just saying that it DOES happen). That is one of the many reasons "bad" things happen- to bring us to God.
Secondly, when Adam and Eve sinned, they brought sin into the world. We are sinners destined for eternity in Hell. God loved us so much that He wanted a way for us to join Him in heaven, but He being a perfectly Just Judge God could not just open up the gates to welcome us all in. So He found a solution.
He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus, being wholly God and wholly man, lived a perfectly sinless life. God wanted/needed a payment for the sins of the world. Jesus paid that price. He was wrongly accused. Beaten, spat on and greatly insulted. He was nailed to the cross, (after carrying it through town), and died for our benefit. On the third day He rose from the grave and walked the earth for 40 days after that and was witnessed by over 5,000 people.
Our ticket into heaven is a perfectly sinless, Holy, God exhaulting life. No one, not one of us could ever do this. So Jesus stepped in and paid our fine. If we trust in Jesus as our ONLY way to heaven and repent of our sins living for His glory, we will be Saved and will be able to join Him in heaven. It really is htat simple.
So, back to the FB status, if I read it correctly, my above 2 points will answer the question. Also, I have a song that answers this beautifully too.
My husband told me about this song and I knew I would love it. I finally heard it on the radio the day after we passed on Nemo. I cried hysterically while driving.
I have mentioned Romans 8:28 on this blog numerious times and this song exemplifies this verse beautifully. I have lived this song so many times. My sister. Woody and Buzz. Nemo. Our hospital stay. And many, many more times too.
James 1:2-3 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
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